Local Reactions: Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare

At the  on Kenwood Trail in Lakeville on Thursday, two men were huddled over a laptop computer, a game of cribbage set to the side.

"This is an outrage," one man said to nobody in particular.

"I'm moving to Canada," the other replied.

"You can't. They have government-run health care, too," the first man said.

"Well what the heck? I can't believe this—Roberts in the majority, for the bad guys," the second said as both laughed.

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Larry Kringle, the first man, and Jimmy Johnson, the second, were reacting to today's news that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Health Care Act that President Barack Obama signed into law last year. Dubbed Obamacare, the decision really rested on whether the "individual mandate" requiring all Americans to purchase health care was Constitutional.

Five of the nine justices agreed that the key to the mandate—the requirement that people either buy health insurance or pay a tax penalty—is a kind of tax, which Congress is allowed to impose using its taxing power, according to the Bloomberg News-operated SCOTUSblog.

"It's a bad day for the Constitution," Kringle, 71, from Elko said. "Granted, I'm a Republican, and maybe you think I'm biased, and you're probably right, but this is just a bad law that'll hurt more than it'll help."

Johnson, 68, from Rosemount, agreed.

"Next thing you know, the government will have the power to tax our breathing and eating," he said. "I know that's dramatic, but you get my drift. It's too much power."

U.S. Congressman John Kline (R-Second District) took that notion a step further, saying: "If Washington can penalize private citizens for failing to buy government-approved health insurance, then there is no reasonable limit on federal power."

In fact, Kline was ultra-critical of the court's decision.

"The Supreme Court’s decision is a devastating blow to the American people," said. "The vast majority of the public does not support this government takeover of health care and Congress must continue its efforts to repeal."

Kline also said Obamacare continues to destroy jobs, raise health care costs, and weaken our economy.

Kline's Democratic opponent in the 2012 election, Mike Obermueller, also released a statement, which included the following excerpt:

"While I've been in support of the parts of the law such as eliminating coverage denials for preexisting conditions, making it illegal to charge women more for health care, allowing children up to age 26 to stay on their parents' health insurance and expanding coverage for seniors, I hope today will allow Washington to put an end to the political games and focus on fixing the things that don’t work."

Fairview Health Services, which operates an and many other clinics and hospitals in the Twin Cities, released a statement saying they were happy the decision has been made.

"Overall, we are pleased that the Supreme Court has released their decision because now we know the context in which we move forward," the statement read. "Fairview remains committed to transforming care and payment systems to improve care, improve patient experience and reduce the total cost of care. For us, it is all about creating greater value for those we serve."

Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson said the decision marks a great day for working Americans.

"The Supreme Court’s decision clears the way for millions of people to have the access to the affordable, high quality health care that had previously been denied," Knutson said. "Minnesota’s union members worked hard to make this law a reality, and we are pleased the court affirmed its constitutionality."

Tell us and other readers what you think of the decision in our comments section below.