Washington, Jun 28 -

Today, the Supreme Court announced that it has upheld the so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Congressman Miller has issued the following statement in response to the Court’s ruling:

 “I am deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision today. The ruling to uphold Obamacare’s individual mandate as a tax is particularly troubling given the fact that the Administration repeatedly claimed that the requirement was not a tax prior to the law’s passage. I continue to believe that the individual mandate is a breach of individual liberty, and that health care decisions are best left in the hands of patients and their families – not government bureaucrats.

Unless the law is repealed, Americans will be forced to purchase government-approved insurance that they may not want or need. The law’s draconian employer penalties give businesses an incentive to drop their employees’ health coverage, violating the President’s promise that those who like their current coverage could keep it, and limit hiring at a time of continued high unemployment. Under the ‘Unaffordable’ Care Act, health care spending will continue to rise for both patients and the federal government, violating yet another major promise of the Administration.  Today’s ruling also leaves intact the ability of fifteen unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats to require cuts to Medicare.

We must repeal this disastrous law, which was passed in the middle of the night over the objections of the American people. Instead of burdensome mandates, taxes, and regulations that will not bring down health care costs, we need common-sense reforms that will increase access to affordable health care and puts patients in charge of their health care. This includes expanding insurance portability, offering tax breaks to allow Americans to purchase health insurance of their choosing, allowing the sale of health insurance across state lines, and promoting association health plans that will help small businesses band together to provide insurance to their employees at an affordable price.

By keeping intact this unworkable and costly law, the ruling today is bad news for patients and for American taxpayers. I will continue to work in Congress to repeal this law so we can start over and reform our health care system to ensure that it preserves the doctor-patient relationship, reins in spiraling health care costs, and expands access to quality care for more Americans.”

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