California's Healthcare Community Stands United In Opposition To ACA Ruling

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A coalition of California healthcare providers and advocates has released the following statement on Friday's ruling on the Affordable Care Act:

If one can take a moment to make their way through the partisanship,  the politics, and the perceptions (right or wrong), the Affordable Care Act is really about just one thing: people. 

It's about making sure that working moms have a place to go when their 2-year-old's fever spikes at 3 a.m. It's about making sure an unemployed college grad doesn't lose coverage while she's searching for her first job. It's about making sure a young dad with a cancer diagnosis won't be denied health coverage because of his illness.

Put simply, the ACA is about giving California's families the health security every single one of us needs to live fruitful, productive lives as part of the fabric of this great state.

Last week's court ruling in Texas puts all of this in jeopardy. Although enrollment will still proceed and people's coverage is unaffected as the court fight moves to another level, the decision strikes at the heart of everything the ACA has accomplished in California, and casts a shadow of fear over the lives of real people.

Here's what the ACA has meant to California:

• An additional 5.1 million people who now have access to doctors, hospitals, medicine and other services; this includes 3.7 million low-income individuals for whom health care had previously been out-of-reach
• Coverage for hundreds of thousands of people who had previously been excluded due to a preexisting condition
• An expansion of health care services, including preventive screenings, to underserved communities

In other words, for millions of Californians, the Affordable Care Act has literally been a lifeline. That's why we stand, unified, in opposition to the Texas ruling, and with full-throated support for the work ahead to ensure that all Californians receive the care they need and deserve.

SOURCE California Hospital Association