Patient Advocates: Supreme Court Decision Ensures Continued Access to Critical Care

The American Cancer Society, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association and National Multiple Sclerosis Society responded enthusiastically to today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of King v. Burwell. The organizations submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in January urging the Court to rule that Congress intended for tax credits to be available to all eligible Americans in the federal and state marketplaces. Following are statements from the organizations:


“The decision ensures that more than 6 million low- and middle-income people nationwide will continue to receive the financial assistance they need to afford health coverage,” said Chris Hansen, president of ACS CAN, the American Cancer Society’s advocacy affiliate. “It means that millions of people with serious health conditions such as cancer will continue to have access to essential treatment and care, and millions of others at risk for disease will be able to afford preventive screenings and tests that could save their lives.”


“Congress responded to gaping holes in the health insurance system that left millions of people – particularly those affected by serious chronic conditions like diabetes – unable to afford health coverage, likely to face overwhelming health care costs and dangerously susceptible to illness and disability,” said Kevin L. Hagan, CEO of the American Diabetes Association. “We cannot significantly improve access to quality, affordable health coverage unless federal financial assistance is available in federal and state marketplaces nationwide.”


“We commend the Court for not halting premium tax credits in the federal marketplaces, enabling an estimated 6.4 million people in 34 states to keep the assistance that makes their health insurance affordable. As a result, these patients can continue to focus on their healing and recovery, instead of worrying about losing their coverage and care,” said Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association. “Now that the Affordable Care Act has survived two major Supreme Court challenges, it’s time for our nation to concentrate on improving the law and enrolling as many uninsured Americans as possible so everyone can receive the quality health and preventive care they need.”


“The evidence demonstrates that access to quality, affordable health coverage greatly improves, and may even save, lives,” said Cyndi Zagieboylo, president and CEO of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. “The uninsured are more likely to suffer serious complications or die from conditions such as MS, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke than are people with health insurance. Being uninsured with a serious chronic disease can also result in more expensive care, a greater risk of personal bankruptcy and higher health care costs system-wide.”


The organizations’ brief cited numerous scientific studies detailing the significant health risks associated with being uninsured. For example:

• The uninsured are more than four times as likely as those with health coverage to be diagnosed with advanced-stage breast cancer and 1.4 times as likely to be diagnosed with advanced-stage cervical cancer. Uninsured patients with stage IV colorectal cancer are nearly four times as likely as patients with private insurance to go without cancer treatment altogether.
• Uninsured patients with cardiovascular disease experience higher mortality rates and poorer blood pressure control than the insured.
• Uninsured people who suffer the most common type of stroke have greater neurological impairments, longer hospital stays and up to a 56 percent higher risk of death than the insured.
• Patients with no health insurance are twice as likely to have a diabetic complication as patients with health insurance.
• Access to health insurance can determine whether a patient with MS gets a prompt diagnosis and receives early and ongoing treatment, which is essential to reducing the frequency and severity of relapses and slowing the progression of the disease.