SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 NEWS) - A lot of people have different opinions on the Supreme Court ruling that came out Thursday morning, but if you ask some doctors and patients who met at the Salt lake Capitol afterwards you can sum it up to one word: "Elated."
"I'm as happy as a clam in wet sand," said Tom Metcalf who is an M.D. pediatrician.
"I think it's going to make a huge impact," said Steve Hatch of Hatch Family Chocolates.
The mixed group of patients and doctors along with non-profit health advocacy group Utah Health Policy Project says upholding "Obamacare" is good for Utah.
"People who have not had insurance will be able to get it now, we can live in a country where people don't have to go into financial ruin just because they get sick," said Shelly Braun of the Utah Health Policy Project.
Right now, UHPP says 386 Utahns don't have health insurance. For a time, one of them was Bobby Matthews' daughter Katie. Katie died from a heart, immune, and thyroid disease. Matthews believes that had healthcare been available then, she may be still be alive today.
"There was a lot of time she would go without the care she needed because we had to scramble, we were constantly battling with the insurance companies and Medicaid to keep her home health nurse going," said Matthews.
Not everyone is as optimistic.
"This is the wrong step in the right direction," said Christine Cardoman, who was denied insurance because of her rheumatoid arthritis but doesn't necessarily believe Obamacare is the answer.
"I'm really torn, I really don't like how much the government is in all of our business, but we're finally doing something for the good of the American public," said Cardoman.
If it is the right move, not everyone can agree just yet. In the meantime, some Utah doctors are celebrating the Supreme Court's decision.
"I am elated," said Metcalf.
