NEW YORK (June 28, 2012) -- Today's Supreme Court ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act represents life-altering access to health care for millions of Americans, particularly African-Americans who have been twice as likely as whites to lack health insurance, National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said today.
 
"Health insurance can mean the difference between life and death, but even more often it can mean the difference between financial stability and ruin," Morial said. "Today the Supreme Court affirmed that our mission to build a fairer health care system is not only appropriate and pro-family, but constitutionally valid."
 
Health care costs are responsible for a majority of personal bankruptcies in the United States, Morial said.
 
Upholding the Act means that investments in preventive health screenings and community prevention efforts, like those operated by Urban League
Affiliates, will continue to move forward.

"The Court's ruling means 31 million more Americans have access to health insurance and senior citizens will pay less for life-saving medications," Morial said. "Insurers can't deny coverage for pre-existing conditions or cancel coverage for policy holders when they become sick.
 
"This is an enormous victory for all Americans. I'm proud of the work the Urban League movement has done to advocate for these reforms, and grateful for the wisdom of the justices for recognizing the essential virtue of the law."
 
Morial noted that Court's ruling on Medicaid expansion increases the pressure on state advocates and civil rights community to ensure all states implement the expansion that will help to ensure more African Americans receive coverage.
 
"Now that the constitutional question has been settled, we can now turn our attention to the states as they implement the provisions that will mean healthier lives and financial stability for millions of struggling families," he said.



Contact:  Teresa Candori
                (212) 558-5433