June 28, 2012 05:17 PM UTC

BREAKING: Obamacare, Mandate Upheld By Supreme Court

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #4: Courtesy FOX 31’s Eli Stokols, local statements:

U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner: “Today’s decision is very disappointing. The Supreme Court effectively granted Congress unprecedented power to tax people who don’t spend money and buy what Congress wants them to buy.

“But just because something is deemed constitutional does not make it good policy. Our fight to curb the overreaching power of government will continue. While today’s decision may have been a setback, the vision of our Founding Fathers and their notion of limited government still lives in the hearts and minds of many Americans.

“This ruling only energizes us for November.”

U.S. Sen. Mark Udall: “The Affordable Care Act has expanded health coverage for thousands of Coloradans and made preventive care more accessible and affordable for millions of Americans across the country.  I am pleased to see that the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the bill’s constitutionality.

“We have already seen the positive impacts of the law, including keeping prescription drugs affordable for our nation’s seniors and prohibiting insurance companies from denying health insurance to children with pre-existing conditions.  I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues, and the administration, to ensure that this important law continues to be implemented in a smart and effective manner.”

Click through to read more, including boilerplate from Majority Leader Amy “Amycare” Stephens, and comment from Sen. Irene Aguilar, MD. We’re not expecting anything from Rep. Janak Joshi, since doctors who have surrendered their license are not really the best commentators on health care policy. True, that hasn’t stopped him before…

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UPDATE #3: Our first local statement today comes from the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, one of the principal in-state advocates for both federal health care reform and the statewide health insurance exchanges passed into law last year with bipartisan support.

In a victory for affordable health care for all Americans and Coloradans today the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Obama administration’s health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act. The following is a statement from Dede de Percin, Colorado Consumer Health Initiative executive director:

“This is the best economic news we could have heard. Coloradans will have more money in their pockets because we will continue to reap the benefits of increased access to more affordable health care.

“Colorado families now will have the peace of mind that they will be able to get the care they need when they need it.  Sonji and Nathan Wilkes of Parker know that their insurance company will never cut off the treatment their 7-year old son Thomas needs for severe hemophilia because of arbitrary coverage caps.  Evergreen’s Dustin and Ariane Speck will not be denied health care coverage due to the pre-existing condition of Dustin’s suffering a stroke at age 41.  And 24-year old David Taft in Summit County can continue on his parents’ insurance plan while he searches for a job with health benefits.  And small businesses like CAP Management will be able to earn tax credits by providing health care insurance to their employees.

“Colorado has already begun expanding Medicaid coverage because as a state, we believe families should be able to get the health care they need. The Medicaid finding on reimbursements will not effect us.

“And not only has the Court upheld the law but Colorado has spoken – voters rejected an anti-health reform initiative and passed bi-partisan legislation to establish an health benefits exchange. We will continue to move forward with increasing access to quality health care for all Coloradans.”

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UPDATE #2: A window for some local Republicans to make lemonade from today’s ruling?

We don’t call him “Teflon” Cory Gardner for nothing, folks.

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UPDATE: A link to the decision.

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We’ll be back with updates soon; looks like a pivotal win for President Barack Obama today.