Campaigns use ruling to pitch for donations • WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans immediately launched fundraising appeals off the court’s decision, underscoring the campaign ramifications of a judicial decision that is supposed to be devoid of politics. Chief Justice John Roberts cast the defining vote, upending the traditional lines of political attack and surprising many in the White House.
The outcome was a clear personal win for Obama, who has staked much of his presidency and legacy on the law. But Republicans were emboldened that it would cost him, given that the law as a whole remains unpopular and that the insurance mandate was deemed by the court to be a tax — a term never popular in an election year.
His campaign said Thursday evening that it had raised $2.5 million from 24,000 donors during the day, crediting a response to the court decision. Romney averaged more than $2 million a day last month, and it was unclear how much was attributable to the health care opinion.
Meanwhile, the Obama campaign emailed a fundraising appeal, citing the court’s decision and Romney’s pledge to repeal it.
Mandate unlikely to affect many, study says • WASHINGTON — The vast majority of Americans wouldn’t be forced to buy anything or pay a penalty as a result of the health-care law’s mandate, a study shows.
A recent study by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research center that focuses on economic and social policy, found that if the law had been fully implemented last year, 93 percent of the population under age 65 wouldn’t have faced a penalty or had to buy insurance under the mandate.
Only 6 percent of Americans, about 18 million people, would have to “newly purchase” insurance under the law, the study found. And of this group, roughly 11 million would be eligible for subsidies to help buy their coverage from insurance “exchanges” created by the law.
The remaining 7 million, about 2 percent of the total population and 3 percent of all Americans under age 65, wouldn’t receive any financial help and could face penalties for lacking coverage, said Linda Blumberg, a health economist and senior fellow in the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center.
Some states may abandon Medicaid expansion • WASHINGTON — Republicans in at least four states want to abandon an expansion of Medicaid in the health care overhaul, and more than a dozen other states are considering it in the wake of the Supreme Court decision removing the threat of federal penalties.
Some Republican governors and lawmakers quickly declared that they would not carry out the expansion, including presidential battlegrounds Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Colorado.
“One thing is clear: state legislatures will play a big role in the future of Obamacare,” said Republican state Rep. Todd Richardson of Missouri.
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