SW Atlanta responds to the Supreme Court Decision to Uphold Healthcare Act

Rep. Pat Gardner of the 57th District which stretches down to the West End and Cascade area was one of the first to give her formal reaction to the 5-4 Supreme Court vote that upheld what is known as "Obamacare" or the Affordable Care Act. (ACA)

Rep. Gardner said,

The Supreme Court has determined that President Obama’s Affordable Care Act is constitutional and I will leave the constitutional arguments to the lawyers.

No one could be more delighted than I am, as a mother whose baby daughter was denied coverage by insurers because of a pre-existing condition.

That was 35 years ago.

No family will have to face that kind of anxiety in the future.  Hard working families have known for decades that the system is broken.

Today we have taken a historic step forward toward creating a coordinated system of care.

As news broke that the Healthcare law will stay as it is, I went to visit a few clinics in the neighborhood.  I first stopped at HEALing Community Center on M.L. King to see how administrators and doctors felt about the news. Though they could not comment on record at this early stage, the overall feeling was that they were excited to know that the country and the President will continue to make strides at serving the poorest among us with affordable care.

At the West End Medical Clinic, people felt very similar.  Off-record I was told by one patient, that she was happy for President Obama, because "everyone tries to blame him for everything." She said, "he is just trying to help all of us out."

Many Georgia lawmakers have expressed their disappointment with the decision by the Supreme Court.  Many of the reactions by office-holders have been expressed along party lines.  Republicans against the vote and Affordable Care versus Democrats applauding the vote and the Affordable Care Act.