Celebrating the Supreme Court’s Affirmation of the Federal Affordable Care Act

On June 28th, I was honored to speak at the Health Care for All New Yorkers rally in celebration of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding the federal Affordable Care Act.  It was indeed a historic day.  The Supreme Court’s decision will ensure affordable health care for millions of Americans, including 3 million previously uninsured young people who can stay on their parents’ plans until age 26 and those who had previously been denied coverage because of preexisting conditions. And it will ensure no more annual or lifetime caps on benefits.
 
However, as I told the crowd, our work is far from over.  We must fight for the Act’s effective implementation in our state, including the establishment of a strong New York State Health Benefit Exchange, and we must ultimately move towards a single-payer system, which would guarantee coverage for all New Yorkers regardless of income or employment status.