Affordable Care Act Ruling a Win for Women and Families

(Washington, D.C.) In a 5-4 decision announced this morning, the Supreme Court ruled in United States Department of Health and Human Services, et al v. State of Florida, et al that the health care law known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is constitutional and will remain the law of the land, protecting and expanding Americans’ access to health care.

The following is a statement from Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-President of the National Women’s Law Center:

“The good news is that by upholding the health care law, its many benefits and protections will continue to ensure that being a woman is no longer considered a pre-existing condition. The law already has made a real and positive difference, and thanks to today’s ruling, additional provisions coming into effect by 2014 will expand access to health care for millions of women and their families.

“Millions more women will get preventive services like mammograms, Pap smears, and birth control without a co-pay. Health insurance companies will no longer be able to deny care because of a pre-existing condition or charge women more than men for the same coverage, and young adults up to 26 years of age will be able to remain on their parents’ insurance policies.

“The National Women’s Law Center will work in the states and in Washington to ensure the continued full implementation of this landmark law, including that states cover those in great need by using the federal Medicaid match—100 percent to start, 90 percent in six years—to cover the cost of insuring more individuals under the law.”

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