‘VICTORY’ FOR ALL AMERICANS

Eric Blinderman

Owner of Mas (la grillade) and Mas (farmhouse) restaurants Supports Obamacare

The Affordable Care Act ruling is good news for my business. Since opening my first restaurant almost nine years ago, I’ve been providing health coverage for key full-time employees. But it’s been a struggle, as every year I am faced with double-digit increases in my premiums.

I was astounded when I received this year’s renewal notice. My premiums are going to rise by only 1%. My brokers attribute this to provisions in the law requiring insurers to spend at least 80% of every dollar on medical care instead of administration. When these items are combined with tax credits and insurance exchanges in 2014, today’s ruling allows me to consider something that would have been unthinkable a year ago: expanding coverage for my employees while saving my business money.

Dr. Marc Siegel

Primary care physician Opposes Obamacare

For my young, healthy patient who comes to me for an occasional sore throat or a sleepless night, the Supreme Court decision that the individual mandate to purchase insurance can survive as a tax would seem to be a major victory.

That is, until he sees his insurance premium — a premium that will be used to help the insurance company pay for the care of an obese diabetic who eats too much junk food.

Some would call the individual mandate, which has now received court approval under a different name, a kind of Ponzi scheme. And doctors are not happy. Beware, if you can use your insurance whenever you want to with no co-pay or disincentive for overuse, an insurance company may have no funds left to pay for the latest technologies.

And you also might find doctors have less and less time to spend with you.

Today was not a happy ending for America’s patients. Remember what your mother (if not your doctor) told you: Nothing in life is free,

Model Sara Ziff

Uninsured patient with a pre-existing condition Supports Obamacare While I was working as a fashion model, I chose not to buy individual health insurance. Like many of my peers, I was young and healthy. It was very expensive. Being uninsured seemed like a minor risk. That fall, however, while gearing up for New York Fashion Week, I noticed a strange numbness in my right arm. When I saw a doctor, I discovered that my arm had no pulse, a blood clot was below my collarbone. The clot was life-threatening and I was rushed to intensive care. I could have been bankrupted by the care I received. As it turned out, I had been only hours away from financial disaster. I had decided to return to school and that very week, my school insurance had kicked in. That’s why I’m so heartened today: We all have a right to know that when we get sick, we can get reasonable treatment without going bankrupt.

Jennifer Carey

President of JLC Environmental Consultants Opposes Obamacare

The Supreme Court decision on health care is a disappointment to many in the small-business community.

The law creates 30 million brand new insurance policy holders — but it doesn’t create a single new doctor, medical facility or drop of medicine. If you know a little bit about the Law of Supply and Demand, then you can bet that the demand for medical care will explode. That means that the cost of medicine will explode. That means that the cost of insurance will explode.

The truth is that no one really knows just how this will play out, including the federal government. In the course of the next two years we’ll see as they implement the law. Many predict that the folks who are celebrating today may not be so happy then.

Steven M. Safyer

President and CEO of Montefiore Medical Center Supports Obamacare

The Supreme Court’s decision yesterday to uphold the Affordable Care Act is a watershed moment. As Americans, doctors and patients we can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Health care is a human right, not a privilege, necessary for a vibrant democracy and a thriving economy.

Any other decision would have hurt the public greatly. The Bronx, for example, faces unique challenges. Our community struggles with severe poverty, a high disease burden and lack of access to good education, healthy foods and housing.

With the help of this law, we are able to advance the health of individuals and the community by assuming responsibility for the well-being of our patients and changing how we deliver care. If Montefiore can accomplish this in a distressed urban community, imagine what we can do as a nation.

Access to health insurance is the most important achievement of this legislation. The health care reform law will insure