AUSTIN—Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation released the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in California v. Texas:
Robert Henneke, TPPF’s general counsel and lead counsel for the individual plaintiffs Neill Hurly and John Nantz: “For a third time, the Court bailed out Congress to save the Affordable Care Act from legal consequences, each time creating more questions than answers. As a result of this decision, we now have a law on the books — the individual mandate — that the Supreme Court already declared unconstitutional, but now says can simply be ignored by every American. Further, the central justification for the decision ignores that our clients had exactly the same standing posture as the individuals in NFIB v. Sebelius where the Court did reach the merits. The Court has offered no clarity on these issues, only more confusion.”
David Balat, Director of TPPF’s Right on Healthcare: “A decade after the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Americans are still unhappy with the high cost of care, a lack of affordable options, and a system that puts the interests of insurance companies over patients. Millions of Americans are eligible for low- or no-cost insurance yet decline to enroll because the system does not deliver the care they need. While supporters of the ACA might cheer today’s decision, the reality is that our system is still in need of repair.
“The good news is states like Texas are beginning to forge their own path and develop new models that provide better help to the uninsured, require pricing information upfront, and put patients in charge. Texas is not waiting around for the Supreme Court to finally recognize the legal problems with the ACA. The failed policy has been evident for more than a decade and Texas is responding with solutions that result in better health outcomes for patients.”