Nebraska Appleseed applauds the U.S. Supreme Court ruling today finding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act legal and constitutional.
“Today is a great day for Nebraskans and the future health of our country, our families, and our friends and neighbors,” said Rebecca Gould, Executive Director at Nebraska Appleseed. “This is the right legal result and means the benefits that are already helping thousands of Nebraskans will continue and many more protections will be implemented in the future.”
For example, since its passage, the ACA has:
- Protected at least 61,000 Nebraska children, and likely thousands more, by prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing conditions like asthma and cancer. This will keep families from being crushed under the weight of medical bills and the worry of how to get their families the care they need.
- Ensures more than 15,000 young Nebraskans access to health insurance by allowing them to remain on their parents’ insurance plans until age 26 regardless of dependent status.
- Provides cost-saving preventive care like yearly checkups, mammograms, and colonoscopies for Nebraskans without co-pays or co-insurance through private insurance.
- Requires insurance companies to provide value for your premium dollar by using 80 – 85% of your premiums on actual medical care.
Moving forward, the ACA will extend additional benefits and protections to Nebraskans. In 2014, insurance companies will not be able to deny anyone coverage on the basis of a pre-existing condition. And states can now move forward and implement exchanges, or new marketplaces, where families can purchase affordable, comprehensive insurance coverage, and, in some cases, receive tax subsidies to make that coverage more affordable.
“Today’s decision will shape the future of health care in our country,” Gould said. “Now that the legality of the ACA is clear, it is time to move forward at both the state and federal level to implement this law with a focus on the consumer it is meant to serve.”