The reactions continue to flow in over Thursday's Affordable Care Act ruling, and the polarization of opinions is definitely predictable.
An already excited political race that only grows in the state and national eyes for November is our own 13th Congressional District Race. Dr. David Gill, a Democrat and an emergency room physician in Bloomington, says has long been an advocate of the Affordable Care Act and says he is looking forward to some of the positives of the bill being implemented…
Gill also says he is happy that politicians finally realized that America needed health reform. Meanwhile, his Republican opponent Rodney Davis says the exact opposite: the entirety of "Obamacare" must go...
Congressman Aaron Schock shares Davis's opinions, and he says he's already working on the overturning....
Schock also says that while the decision is technically a win for Obama, he sees it as a leg up for the Republican Party because so many Americans are left dissatisfied.
The support/opposition breaks down almost directly along party lines. Gov. Pat Quinn also supports the President's healthcare reform, saying he'll do everything he can to fully implement the mandate in Illinois…
State Representatives Adam Brown and Bill Mitchell believe the Illinois General Assembly should pass legislation to opt out of the Obamacare Medicaid expansion, which would add an estimated 700,000 individuals to the state’s Medicaid rolls.
“Obamacare is a tax on the middle class to pay for more welfare,” Mitchell said. “It will greatly expand our welfare rolls and add billions of dollars in costs to Illinois taxpayers. The Comptroller says the Obamacare expansion will cost the state up to $2.4 billion over the next six years.”
“The Governor and Democrat-controlled General Assembly just cut $1.6 billion from Medicaid, eliminating prescription drug coverage for 180,000 Illinois seniors,” Mitchell added. “So now we’re going to add another 700,000 people to Medicaid, massively expanding a bankrupt program? We should put a stop to the Obamacare expansion. We simply cannot afford it.”
Representative Brown wants the General Assembly to reconvene this summer to pass opt-out legislation.
“The General Assembly not only slashed Medicaid – they raised the cigarette tax to help pay for it,” Brown said. “Meanwhile, the Chicago Democrats refused to kick illegal immigrants off our welfare rolls. Throw another 700,000 individuals into the mix and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Illinois is broke. Obamacare will only make things worse for our state. We’ve got to put the brakes on this expansion.”
