Statement of ACAP CEO Margaret A. Murray on Supreme Court Hearing on the Affordable Care Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 10, 2020                             
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jeff Van Ness, (202) 204-7515, jvanness@communityplans.net

 

STATEMENT OF ACAP CEO MARGARET A. MURRAY ON SUPREME COURT HEARING ON THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

WASHINGTON—Margaret A. Murray, Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP) made the following statement on California vs. Texas, the case seeking to invalidate the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in its entirety. The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case this morning:

Millions of Americans rely on the Affordable Care Act for access to comprehensive health care coverage. Rolling back its protections would create chaos and strip health insurance from millions of Americans.

“Even if the Court were to ultimately hold the individual mandate to be unconstitutional, it requires a strained reading to strike down the law of its entirety. It would also require a strained interpretation of the plain actions of Congress, which chose to remove the enforcement mechanism for the individual mandate, but left in place the mandate itself – and the remainder of the ACA.

“The unprecedented public health crisis facing the nation has brought into sharp relief the need for quality, affordable, comprehensive health coverage. Over the past ten years, the ACA has survived multiple attempts to gut its reforms; we’re confident it will withstand this challenge for reasons that we outlined in an amicus brief submitted by ACAP and the Alliance for Community Health Plans.”

About ACAP:
ACAP represents 78 health plans, which collectively provide health coverage to more than 20 million people. Safety Net Health Plans serve their members through Medicaid, Medicare, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Marketplace and other publicly-sponsored health programs. For more information, visit www.communityplans.net.

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