Wasserman Schultz Statement in Response to ACA Subsidy Rulings

Washington, DC, July 22, 2014
Today the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals rightly affirmed consumers' ability to access health care subsidies regardless of the type of marketplace operating in their state...The two decisions could not be more stark, and as this issue makes its way through the judicial system I believe the ultimate ruling will come down in favor of Congress' clear intent: that the American people should have the ability to access affordable, quality health insurance no matter where they live.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23) issued the following statement today after two court rulings related to the Affordable Care Act’s subsidy provisions: the first being a 2-1 ruling by a panel of judges on the D.C. Court of Appeals that declared individuals can only use subsidies to purchase health care plans through state-run exchanges, not the federal exchange; and the second being a unanimous decision by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, VA that allows subsidies to be used in both the federal and state exchanges:
“Today the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals rightly affirmed consumers’ ability to access health care subsidies regardless of the type of marketplace operating in their state.
“I am confident that the D.C. Court of Appeals’ decision will be appealed and eventually overturned because people should not be penalized when their Governors and legislatures refuse to set up state-run exchanges. Congress created a two-tiered system to ensure that Americans living in states where elected officials refused to set up a state exchange, would have access to the same quality, affordable health care coverage as Americans covered by state exchanges. Nearly three dozen states – the vast majority of which are Republican-controlled, put politics before people and did not create their own exchanges, leaving their citizens to rely instead on the Federal exchange. 
“Almost one million Floridians now have quality, affordable health care thanks to the federal exchange, and until the Florida legislature creates a state exchange it would be an incredible miscarriage of justice to deny Floridians the subsidies that are essential to accessing plans and operating the federal marketplace in an affordable and efficient manner. If the D.C. Court’s ruling were final it would create a horrible, disparate system of haves and have nots in Florida and nationwide that Congress clearly did not intend.
“The two decisions could not be more stark, and as this issue makes its way through the judicial system I believe the ultimate ruling will come down in favor of Congress' clear intent: that the American people should have the ability to access affordable, quality health insurance no matter where they live.”
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