Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said that the U.S. Supreme Court today made the right decision in upholding a key provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
"I'm glad the Supreme Court did the right thing and protected health care coverage for millions of Americans," Pingree said. "This is a case they should never have taken up. Opponents were trying to take a few words out of context to undermine the entire law. When the ACA was being written and passed, everybody – Republicans, Democrats, and the Congressional Budget Office alike – agreed that the subsidies would be available in all states. Only later did opponents change their mind."
Pingree said the ACA is working for millions of Americans.
"There are over 16 million people today who have health care coverage that didn't before we passed the ACA," Pingree said. "Seniors are paying less for prescription drugs, over 100 million individuals with pre-existing conditions don't have to worry about losing their coverage and the vast majority of people getting their insurance through the marketplaces are paying about $100 a month."
Pingree said the subsidies that the Supreme Court let stand today are essential to making the ACA work.
"Health care is affordable because of the subsidies that bring the cost of coverage down to something most families can handle," she said. "If the Supreme Court had thrown out the subsidies that would have meant 60,000 people in Maine and millions more across the country would have suddenly been facing insurance premiums that would be almost impossible to afford."
Pingree also called on opponents of the law to stop trying to undermine health care coverage for millions of American families.
"We've debated this for years, it's been passed by Congress, signed by the President and twice the Supreme Court has upheld the law," Pingree said. "Millions of Americans have health care coverage because of it but just last week Republican leaders in Congress passed what amounts to their 60th attempt toroll back or repeal the law. It's time to stop trying to take away health care for Americans and focus on figuring out how to make the law better."
