Obama: Affordable Care Act Is 'Here To Stay'

By Scott Neuman

Published June 25, 2015 at 10:47 AM CDT

President Obama delivers remarks in the Rose Garden after the U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling to uphold the nationwide availability of tax subsidies that are crucial to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Updated at 1:25 p.m. ET

President Obama, commenting on the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling today to uphold a key provision of his signature health care law, said after numerous challenges, the Affordable Care Act has been "woven into the fabric of America" and "is here to stay."

In the 6-3 King v. Burwell decision, in which Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion of the court, the justices sided with a lower court that upheld the legality of subsidies to people buying health insurance via a federal exchange established by the Affordable Care Act.

"Five years ago, after nearly a century of talk, decades of trying, a year of bipartisan debate," the law is finally and firmly entrenched, Obama said, speaking from the White House Rose Garden.

Health care, he said is "not a privileged for a few, but a right for all."

He said that the law had endured "successes and setbacks. The setbacks I remember clearly."

However, "as the dust has settled, there can be no doubt that this law is working."

After 50 votes by House GOP lawmakers to try to weaken or repeal, "the Affordable Care Act is here to stay."

Obama concluded his remarks by saying: "This was a good day for America. Let's get back to work."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi echoed the president's message, saying in a statement: "Today, for the second time, the Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act.

"This is a victory for common sense and for all American families," she said.

But House Speaker John Boehner called the law "fundamentally broken."

"Today's ruling doesn't change that fact," he said in a statement. "Republicans will continue to listen to American families and work to protect them from the consequences of ObamaCare. And we will continue our efforts to repeal the law and replace it with patient-centered solutions that meet the needs of seniors, small business owners, and middle-class families."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said today's Supreme Court ruling "won't change Obamacare's multitude of broken promises," that resulted in Americans losing plans they were happy with.

"Today's ruling won't change Obamacare's spectacular flops, from humiliating website debacles to the total collapse of exchanges in states run by the law's loudest cheerleaders," McConnell said in a statement. "Today's ruling won't change the skyrocketing costs in premiums, deductibles, and co-pays that have hit the middle class so hard over the last few years."

And, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said GOP lawmakers will "continue to fight tooth and nail to repeal" the law.