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Supreme Court gives Obama second big health care win
What it means here
Michelle Johnson, director of the Nashville-based advocacy group the Tennessee Justice Center said Thursday that the decision can now allow Tennessee lawmakers to focus on Insure Tennessee, Gov. Bill Haslam's plan to expand health coverage to 280,000 people through the Affordable Care Act. "We are relieved that these families can continue to have the health care and financial peace of mind that health coverage provides," Johnson said. "But the ruling makes us all the more aware that nearly 300,000 other Tennesseans still live with the dangers and fears that go with being uninsured, simply because our legislature has not yet approved Governor Haslam's plan." The decision means that 155,743 Tennesseans, 412,385 Georgians and 132,253 Alabamans will be able to keep the subsidies that made health coverage affordable off of the federal exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act.
NASHVILLE -- Republican Gov. Bill Haslam said today he's "surprised" and has mixed feelings over today's U.S. Supreme Court decision that upholds federal subsidies for at least 155,000 Tennesseans who get federally subsidized health insurance over a federally operated exchange in the Volunteer State.
"While personally, philosophically, I didn't agree with the ruling," Haslam told reporters today in summing up his thoughts, "in terms of the smoothness of the market and people retaining coverage in a predictable way, I think that's a good thing."
Haslam said he's not sure the impact the ruling will have on his proposed Insure Tennessee plan, twice rejected by fellow Republicans in the Senate earlier this year.
The proposal would bring the state into the other major portion of President Obama's Affordable Care Act by using federal dollars to extend Medicaid coverage to an estimated 280,000 Tennesseans whose income is up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line.
Legislative Democrats are renewing calls for Haslam to push ahead and call state lawmakers back to Nashville in a special session to consider the Insure Tennessee program.
"Regardless of your feelings about the Affordable Care Act, one of the most conservative courts in the history of this country has ruled --again -- that it is the law of the land," House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh said in a statement. "There are no more excuses for this legislature or its leadership to ignore the 300,000 working men and women waiting on health care. We have work to do."
Fitzhugh said it's "my hope that the Governor and our speakers will call legislators back to Nashville immediately to work on passing Insure Tennessee."
Said Haslam: "What a novel idea" and laughed. Democrats have repeatedly called for a special session for the GOP-dominated Legislature. Haslam said he is still working to build support among fellow Republicans.
The governor agreed that some Republicans have said any decision on the Medicaid expansion should wait until the King vs. Burwell case was settled.
"For one, that was a question out there that's been taken off the board we now know there will be no changes due to King v. Burwell. Obviously as we continue these discussions that was one of the concerns people had -- let's wait and see what happens -- and now that's an issue that's been taken off the table."
He said some thought a ruling would "disable the Affordable Care Act and change the whole game."
"For those folks, I think, that concern's put away," Haslam said.
But, Haslam noted, others question "can we truly get out of this and O've tried to make that point that we truly can get out of this" if his Insure Tennessee plan proves unworkable or unaffordable for state taxpayers. "Other folks are trying to make certain that the 'skin in the game' [modest cost-sharing for the poor] really is skin in the game if you will," he said.