Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Affordable Care Act is here to stay.
As a result of this landmark decision, 100,000 women in Washington will have access to life-saving cervical and breast cancer screenings. In addition, 2,000,000 Washingtonians no longer have lifetime limits on their health care, and 52,000 young adults under 26 now have insurance on their parents’ plans.
This decision shows the power of dedicated activists working together. We’ve worked for decades to expand access to quality, affordable care. Yesterday’s ruling means that seniors, small businesses, women, and children will benefit from the historic health care law for years to come.
The law already benefits more than 100 million people across the country. In the coming months, even more benefits will be available to help consumers and small businesses and reduce costs. And the cherry on top – health care reform will expand coverage to 30 million people who are currently uninsured.
Yesterday we celebrated with our members, allies & partners across the state and held 10 celebratory events that focused on the personal stories of people benefiting from the Affordable Care Act.
This celebration was delayed for more than two years because of legal attacks from Attorney General Rob McKenna and other Republicans. He risked the lives of Washingtonians to score political points by suing to throw out the entire law. Not on our watch! We held our celebrations outside his offices throughout the state and delivered a statement to let him know that we won’t let him threaten our health care again.
Events took place at McKenna’s offices in Bellingham, Everett, Kennewick, Olympia, Port Angeles, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Wenatchee and Yakima.
Our members from both Seattle and Spokane shared their stories and struggles with the health care system and focused on how the ACA has helped to change their lives. Take a look at this great article in the Seattle Times which highlights some of the stories from our event. And this wonderful interview that Main Street Alliance member Laura Waite did on Thursday with King5 – highlighting how she’s been denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition and now, thanks to health care reform, she can finally breathe easy.
A big thanks to all our members who have helped us reach this point – we never could have gotten here without you! Now that the law has been upheld, we’ll continue to advocate for full implementation of the law and to ensure that our state includes the Basic Health Option as we move forward.
