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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
June 25, 2015 Camila Gallardo
(305) 215-4259
cgallardo@nclr.org
Ruling ensures moderate-income enrollees continue to receive tax credits
WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a 6-to-3 decision today, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the federal government’s assertion that all individuals who purchase health insurance through the federal or state exchanges should receive premium tax-credit subsidies if they meet eligibility requirements. In the case of King v. Burwell, the plaintiffs had challenged the law, claiming that the provision was written in a way that only extended the tax credits and cost-sharing reductions to enrollees in states that had established their own exchanges. In the 34 states that have not set up their own exchanges, including Texas and Florida, two states with large numbers of Latino voters and families, about nine million people risked losing their subsidies.
“Today's decision is a victory for the health and safety of our country. It means that millions of Americans, including Latinos, will continue receiving critical financial help to purchase a quality, affordable plan through the insurance marketplace. But the job is not done and our work continues, since one in four Latinos is still uninsured. We know that the successful implementation of the Affordable Care Act is something our community needs and supports,” said Janet Murguía, President and CEO, NCLR (National Council of La Raza).
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, millions of Americans, including more than four million Latinos, have obtained quality, affordable health coverage. The law has benefited millions more by ensuring that individuals with preexisting conditions can no longer be turned down for coverage, providing preventive benefits such as screenings for diabetes and high cholesterol with no cost sharing and allowing young adults to remain on their parents’ insurance plans until age 26.
“Given today's decision, it’s time to stop trying to repeal or weaken the law and instead start working on substantively building on the gains we’ve made. There remain millions more eligible people waiting to benefit, including limited-English-proficient individuals and those from mixed-immigrant-status households,” concluded Murguía.
NCLR stands with other civil rights and health equity organizations in affirming the critical role the ACA has played in improving the lives of millions of Americans, including millions of Latinos.
NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. For more information on NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org or follow along on Facebook and Twitter.
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