FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 17, 2021
CONTACT: William Parke-Sutherland, Health Policy Analyst
wparkesutherland@kidsforward.org, 608.720.9405
MADISON, WI – The following is a response from Michele Mackey, CEO of Kids Forward, following the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Affordable Care Act this morning.
This morning’s ruling is an enormous victory for all Americans, including the more than 20 million who were in immediate danger of losing their health insurance in the middle of a once in a generation pandemic. Since February 15, more than 1.2 million additional people have signed up for health coverage through the health insurance Marketplace, including about 21 thousand Wisconsinites. Year after year, about 200 thousand Wisconsinites rely on the ACA for essential health coverage, and millions benefit from protections for people with pre-existing conditions and prohibitions against annual and lifetime limits.
Once again opponents of the ACA have tried and failed to abolish the health law, and take away essential benefits and health protections that more than 100 million people rely upon. The Affordable Care Act is here to stay, and it’s time that Wisconsin policymakers embrace the full power of the law by expanding Medicaid coverage through BadgerCare. Expanding BadgerCare would mean 91,000 Wisconsinites would have access to more affordable, comprehensive health insurance and would reduce Wisconsin’s share of Medicaid spending by hundreds of millions per year.
For Wisconsin’s children and families, we are greatly relieved that the efforts to reverse the Affordable Care Act did not succeed, but we cannot become complacent. It’s well past time for federal and state policymakers to earnestly address the deep health inequities that plague our country and our state and make all of us more vulnerable to public health crises, such as the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of trying to take health care away from tens of millions of people, it’s time to build on the ACA’s successes and make improvements that will make health care more affordable, equitable, and accessible.