Families USA: Dismissal of Liberty University’s Lawsuit Is a Victory for Health Care Consumers

Second Federal Court Turns Back Challenges to Affordable Care Act

The following is the statement of Kathleen Stoll, Deputy Executive Director of Families USA, in response to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia’s ruling dismissing the case of Liberty University et al. v. Geithner et al., Liberty University’s challenge to the Affordable Care Act:

“Yesterday’s ruling by the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia dismissing Liberty University’s challenge to the Affordable Care Act marks an important victory for health care consumers across the country. For the second time in as many months, a federal court has upheld the Affordable Care Act, and it specifically found the personal responsibility provision to be squarely constitutional. As in the Michigan case that was decided in October, a federal court has correctly rejected the radical arguments put forth by opponents of the Affordable Care Act. 

“These two rulings show how far out of the legal mainstream the lawsuits against the Affordable Care Act really are. These lawsuits are in fact politically motivated efforts to distract from and undo the enormous progress represented by the new law.

“In the meantime, states and the federal government should continue to move forward to implement the new law, including protecting people with pre-existing conditions from denials of coverage and unaffordable premiums, requiring insurance companies to set fair premiums for everyone, improving Medicare for seniors and people with disabilities, and helping small businesses that want to provide coverage to their workers. Moreover, within a few years, low- and middle-income families will receive new tax credits to purchase health insurance, and tens of millions of Americans who currently lack health insurance will have affordable coverage.

“Health care consumers have much to gain from the continued implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and two separate federal courts have now agreed that there is no legal impediment to moving forward.”

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Families USA is the national organization for health care consumers. It is nonprofit and nonpartisan and advocates for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

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202-628-3030 · Email: info@familiesusa.org · www.familiesusa.org