WASHINGTON - Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) today made the following statement in response to the news that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear King v. Burwell, a challenge to the Affordable Care Act:
This lawsuit misconstrues the intent of the authors of the Affordable Care Act and threatens to take health coverage away from millions of Americans that have already signed up under the new law. As I stated in a recent op-ed I co-authored in the Washington Post, the law was written to make healthcare affordable for all Americans - regardless of where they live and whether they purchase coverage in a state- or federally-based marketplace. Low- and middle-income Americans who live in states that chose not to establish their own marketplaces should not be penalized simply because their state decided to defer to the federal government. As the ranking member of one of the committees that shaped and debated the healthcare law, I am confident that the Supreme Court will recognize both the letter and intent of the law to ensure that financial assistance remains available in every state."
