Asian Americans Advancing Justice Applauds Supreme Court Decision to Uphold Tax Subsidies
LOS ANGELES – Asian Americans Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice) affiliates in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco and Los Angeles praise the Supreme Court decision to uphold tax subsidies for federally-facilitated marketplaces authorized by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).
“Millions of Americans, including hundreds of thousands of Asian Americans, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) have had access to critically important health coverage because of the ACA,” said Stewart Kwoh, President and Executive Director of Advancing Justice-LA. “Today’s Supreme Court decision reaffirms the validity of the ACA. Now all efforts must be made to ensure that those remaining uninsured individuals have access to affordable, quality health coverage, whether through Medicaid, the Marketplaces, or further health care reform efforts.”
Advancing Justice affiliates in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. are members of Action for Health Justice (AHJ), a national coalition of more than 70 organizations dedicated to ensuring that AANHPIs realize the benefits of the ACA. Earlier this year, AHJ filed an amicus brief, signed by 63 organizations, in support of the ACA tax subsidies. The brief described the myriad problems faced by AANHPIs, including health care disparities and the lack of access to health care services, and illustrated the need for affordable health care through real life examples of those who have benefited from the ACA and would suffer without the federal tax subsidies.
Although the Open Enrollment Period to sign up for health coverage under the Marketplaces is now over, individuals may be eligible under the Special Enrollment Period if they have experienced a qualifying life event, such as losing health coverage, getting married, or other changed circumstances. Low-income individuals may also be eligible for Medicaid, which has no deadline to enroll.
For more information about the ACA, you can go to www.healthcare.gov or if you are in California, www.coveredca.com or http://advancingjustice-la.org/what-we-do/policy-and-research/health-justice to learn more about Advancing Justice-LA’s Health Justice Network, a statewide collaborative which conducts navigator activities in California.
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Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all. The affiliation’s members are: Advancing Justice – AAJC (Washington, D.C.), Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice – Atlanta, Advancing Justice – Chicago, and Advancing Justice – Los Angeles.