Congresswoman Pingree statement on Supreme Court's upholding of Affordable Care Act
Thursday, 28 June 2012 13:40

Dear Friends,

Today we celebrate a victory for seniors who are already saving hundreds of dollars a year on prescription drugs; a victory for young adults who want to stay on their parents' insurance policies; and a victory for anyone worried about an insurance company cancelling their coverage when they get sick.

The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the health care reform law this morning is a victory for all Americans—but we still have a lot of work to do.

House Republicans have promised to do what the Supreme Court has refused to do—repeal health care reform. I intend to keep up the fight to not only protect the progress we've made, but to keep working to bring further reform to our health care system.

The health care reform law has already begun to benefit people in Maine and around the country every day. Just last week we learned that Sanford will be getting a new community health center to provide basic medical and dental care to thousands of York County residents—thanks to the Affordable Care Act.

Over 10,000 Maine people are in line to get refunds of nearly $500 per family because of the law's "80-20" rule, which forces insurance companies to pay out at least 80% of the premiums they take in, or rebate the difference—thanks to the Affordable Care Act.

And thousands of Maine seniors have saved an average of $550 this year on their prescription drug costs—thanks to the Affordable Care Act.

Across this country, 100 million Americans no longer have a lifetime cap on coverage, 17 million children are no longer denied coverage because of preexisting conditions, and nearly 7 million young people up to age 26 who are still on their parents' policies because of this law.

Just because the Supreme Court has upheld health care reform doesn't mean we can stand by and watch opponents of the law try to dismantle or repeal it. Today we celebrate; tomorrow we keep fighting to preserve it and all the ways it will benefit Maine families.

Best wishes,

Chellie Pingree