Supreme Court Decision Upholds Obamacare, a Huge Victory for American Families

Once again, the Supreme Court has rejected a partisan attempt to undermine the health protections provided by the Affordable Care Act, which I like to call Obamacare. As a result of today's decision in King v. Burwell, 19,000 people in my district, 232,000 people in Illinois and 6.4 million Americans in 34 states across the country can go to bed tonight knowing that they will wake up tomorrow insured and able to take care of their family's medical needs.

Opponents of Obamacare have tried since its passage to repeal, dismantle and erode this landmark bill. In King v. Burwell, they cherry-picked one phrase in an attempt to argue that Congress did not mean to provide tax credits to all eligible households. In Illinois, one of the states that would have been affected by an adverse ruling, 78 percent of those who have enrolled in GetCovered Illinois receive premium tax credits worth, on average, $210 per month. Today's Supreme Court decision means that they can continue to receive assistance. The Supreme Court quite rightfully rejected the tortured argument before it and, instead, looked at the entire law and relied on clear congressional intent.

Today's decision is a huge victory. Now it is time that the Republicans in Congress and their allies stop their constant assaults on a law that is clearly working. People across Illinois and the country are healthier -- and lives are being saved because of Obamacare. Parents know that their children can never be turned down because they were born with a disability and can never outlive their benefits. Women know that they cannot be charged higher premiums because of their gender, and that maternity coverage will always be included. And all Americans know that they can get preventive services without cost sharing, so that they can catch any problems when they are treatable.

The U.S. Supreme Court has now acted twice to uphold Obamacare. It is time to end the baseless lawsuits and ceaseless attacks and votes in Congress. It's time to let the law work.

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