“HISTORIC.” “LANDMARK STEP TOWARD UNIVERSAL COVERAGE.” “RELIEF FOR MANY FLORIDIANS.”  

Landmark step toward universal coverage [Tampa Bay Times editorial] “For more than a century, the nation’s presidents have tried and failed to provide all Americans access to adequate health care. Thursday’s historic U.S. Supreme Court opinion upholding President Barack Obama’s signature achievement clears the path toward achieving that elusive goal…Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, and other opponents continue to vow to repeal the law. But they offer no reasonable alternative that would expand coverage to the nation’s uninsured and bring down costs.”

UPHELD [Tampa Tribune] “Also in 2014, insurance companies will not be able to deny coverage for medical treatment, nor can they charge more to people with health problems. Those protections, now standard for most employer plans, will be available to all, including people who get laid off or leave a corporate job to launch their own small business. The ruling was more than a relief to St. Petersburg resident Ariel Fernandez, who worried he would need to start scraping together $2,000 a month for epilepsy medication…Many of the changes called for in the law were already being demanded by employers trying to get better value for their private health insurance dollars.”

Affordable Care Act is legal. [Palm Beach Post editorial] “That the court’s ruling afffirms that Congress has the power to expand health care coverage to the majority of Americans is the good news.”

South Florida Teen With Pre-Existing Condition Thankful For Obama Health Care Law [NBC Miami] “The Affordable Care Act has already helped one teen and his family in South Florida.”

Supreme Court ruling could bring relief for many Floridians [Tampa Bay Times]

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act [FLDemocracy2012]

Impact of Supreme Court Decision on Women’s Health in FL [Public News Service] 

U.S. Supreme Court upholds health care law [Tampa Bay Times] 

Supreme Court ruling could bring relief for many Floridians [Tampa Bay Times]

“Obamacare:” what the Supreme Court ruling means for Floridians [Orlando Sentinel]

STORYLINE #2: “TIME FOR SCOTT, BONDI TO STOP STALLING”  Time for Scott, Bondi to stop stalling [Tampa Bay Times editorial] “Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi, having lost the legal fight, were less than graceful in defeat Thursday. Florida already is far behind other states in moving to set up state insurance exchanges. Scott also has rejected millions of dollars in federal dollars flowing from the law, risking the health of Floridians to make a political point. It is time for the governor to stop stalling, recognize the authority of Congress and the Supreme Court, and carry out the law that will benefit millions of Floridians”

Supreme Court Decision Bad for Scott [Sarasota Herald Tribune] “Make no mistake about it, this was a bad U.S. Supreme Court decision for Florida Gov. Rick Scott…Scott didn’t just lose his political gamble that the reforms would be declared unconstitutional. Now he has a major public policy problem: Implementing a law after rejecting millions of dollars in federal aid aimed at helping Florida and other states get started.”

The court has now ruled on health care; Florida needs to move on [Orlando Sentinel editorial] “Now that the court has ruled, it’s time for Gov. Scott to act…Besides not working to set up the exchanges called for in the law, Gov. Scott has rejected millions of federal dollars in a state that clearly needs assistance. A Florida Health Care Insurance Advisory Board report found that enrollment in health insurance has dropped for the fifth straight year, from 4.5 million in 2006 to 3.7 million in 2010. The governor will not do himself, nor Florida’s citizenry, any favors by blocking efforts to implement the law”

High court delivers blow to Florida Republican leaders [Palm Beach Post] “The U.S. Supreme Court upheld key provisions of the 2010 federal health care overhaul Thursday, dealing a major defeat to Gov. Rick Scott and Florida Republican leaders,”

Rick Scott loses on Healthcare [Tampa Bay Times]

Scott unsure of response to health care ruling [AP]

Supreme Court health ruling pressures Florida to scramble [South Florida Sun Sentinel] 

CONNIE MACK IV SKEWERED: “AVOIDED THE STUMP, SHUNNED DEBATES…WHY BOTHER TO LEAVE CALIFORNIA”  For Connie Mack, it’s good to be the IV [Tampa Bay Times column] “This probably explains why Connie Mack IV has avoided the stump, shunned debates with his opponents and only occasionally appeared in public on the odd double date with Mitt Romney. Why bother to leave California and actually go out on the campaign trail when you could possibly get elected to the Senate by voters who think they are casting a ballot for daddy?… Inspired by the younger Mack, who has adopted the Thomas Pynchon School of Campaigning, my plan is to change my name to Connie Mack V and immediately go into seclusion for the duration of the campaign unless I have to cash a check from Sheldon Adelson.”

Connie Mack, House Republicans Continue Stupid Health Care Posturing [Broward Palm Beach New Times] “But don’t think Mack, or his Republican colleagues, are actually doing anything for our country with this one.”

OTHER NEWS WE THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW

South Florida Democrats support walk out on Holder contempt vote [Miami Herald] “Among those supporting the walk out from South Florida: Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston; Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar; and Frederica Wilson, D-Miami. Here are their statements:”

Florida’s springs are in jeopardy [Tallahassee Democrat column] “In 2011, the governor and the Legislature eliminated funding for the decade-long Florida Springs Initiative, which had provided springs science and protection activities.This year, the Legislature repealed the statewide septic tank inspection program, which is critical to reducing nitrate contamination of the aquifer. Now, we have reached a tipping point” 

Brevard joins anti-FCAT movement [Florida Today] “Brevard School Board members Thursday called on state leaders to overhaul a school accountability system that they say over-emphasizes and over-uses the FCAT as a measure of student, teacher, school and district performance.” 

Attempt to remove Fla. justices is worst judicial activism [Palm Beach Post editorial] “While the U.S. Supreme Court was exercising

judicial restraint in its health care ruling, Florida’s high court remains the target of extreme judicial activism. Not by Florida’s justices, but by a conservative group trying to oust three of them.”