Walz Statement on Supreme Court Decision

Washington, DC [6/25/15] – Today, Representative Tim Walz (D-MN), released the following statement after the Supreme Court ruling in the King v. Burwell case:

“The goal of the Affordable Care Act is to provide all Americans with health care. It simply doesn’t make sense, nor was it the authors’ intent, to provide subsidies only to people in states that created their own exchanges, and I’m glad the Supreme Court agreed.

“While the law is not perfect, it is working; more Americans have health insurance today than ever before. Since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, the nationwide uninsured rate has been cut by about 30 percent. In Minnesota, the effects have been even more profound, cutting the uninsured rate nearly in half, from 8.2 percent to 4.9 percent.  In other words, because of the Affordable Care Act, 95 percent of Minnesotans now have health insurance.

“Health care reform is a journey, not a destination. As we move forward, there will likely need to be improvements and changes to the law along the way. While I will work with anyone who is genuine in their attempts to improve the law, I will fight vigorously against repeal and sending us back to the days when seniors were forced to choose between buying groceries or filling their prescriptions, when being a woman was considered a ‘pre-existing condition,’ and when students got kicked off their parents health care the day they graduated. We must keep moving forward.”

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