Highest Court in the Land Upholds the Affordable Care Act (Twice)!

Just like most of you, I took a deep breath when I saw the Supreme Court decision in King v Burwell announced today. Here at CCF, we all high-fived but now I’m lamenting the fact that we had to waste all of this time and energy worrying about what would happen if the opponents of the Affordable Care Act won. I think about all the Americans relying on the federally-facilitated marketplaces to secure their health and financial security and all the angst this lawsuit must have caused them.

While I’m relieved that opponents weren’t able to take this affordable coverage option away from 6.4 million people, I am bracing for the next nuisance lawsuit to drop. Just yesterday, 10 Republican Attorneys General wrote in support of a lawsuit filed by the state of Florida claiming that CMS violated the law by being good stewards of public funding and scaling back Florida’s widely criticized Low-Income Pool.

The highest court in the land has upheld the ACA twice. I hope we can move past the excessive politicization and nuisance lawsuits and try to work together as a country to do the hard work of fulfilling the promise of the Affordable Care Act.

Editor’s Note: Governor Rick Scott of Florida withdrew the lawsuit against CMS after publication.

Joan Alker is the Executive Director of the Center for Children and Families and a Research Professor at the Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy.

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