Mixed reaction continues to pour in from physician organizations, practices and politicians regarding the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said in a news release that it applauds the decision. Maternal mortality is three to four times higher among women who don't receive prenatal care, and uninsured women have a 31% higher chance of adverse outcomes such as preterm births or low-birth-weight babies, the group said.

In an e-mailed news release, the Christian Medical Association said the decision "sounds an alarm across the country to people with faith-based and pro-life convictions." It called on Congress to repeal the law.

The Medical Society of the State of New York issued a statement from its president, Dr. Robert Hughes, calling on Congress and President Barack Obama "to put aside partisan differences to work together to fix the many flaws of the PPACA law" to ensure that the law's goal of assuring patients receive timely, quality care with the doctor of their choice is met.

The Tennessee Medical Association issued a news release stating that it was surprised by the ruling. Although there is a "certain finality" to the decision, the group said, healthcare reform itself remains a work in progress. "Until the Supreme Court made its decision, we had to take tentative steps toward change," Dr. Wiley Robinson, TMA president, said in the release. "Today's decision allows us to make more definitive plans regarding reforms to our healthcare system in Tennessee."

Hill Physicians Medical Group, a 3,700-physician organization based in San Ramon, Calif., said the importance of the decision is that it "clears away doubt" (PDF).

“Over the last two years, many healthcare organizations have been working to respond to the new environment created by the reform legislation,” Darryl Cardoza, Hill Physicians CEO, said in the release. “All that work has been done under a cloud of uncertainty about whether the law would be upheld. … Everyone in health insurance and healthcare delivery now shares a common understanding of what's expected.”

Dr. Michael Burgess, a GOP congressman from Texas, issued a statement declaring that the decision sends a signal to the House of Representatives that “it is our responsibility to repeal this overburdensome law which increases taxes on middle-class families, and replace it with common-sense policies that encourage economic growth and protect American's access to care.”

The American Medical Group Association, whose membership includes more than 400 multispecialty practices in which some 125,000 physicians practice, released a news release that appeared to say, in essence, that it's time to move on.

"AMGA accepts today's ruling, and we would encourage federal policymakers to remember that delivery of system reform is not dependent on any single piece of legislation but rather the continuing efforts of patient-centered organizations beyond the Beltway that are making healthcare advancements day-in and day-out," Donald Fisher, AMGA president and CEO, said in the release. "We need to support and foster them, and we remain hopeful that the dialogue can now shift to this necessary debate."