Atlanta, Ga. - June 28, 2012 - In a pivotal moment for the future of health care in our country, the US Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Health Care Act by a vote of 5-4.
In their decision, the court determined that the Affordable Care Act, including its individual health insurance, is constitutional.
"This may well be the most important court decision of the decade," said Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta). "It is a watershed moment for Georgia's families."
For Georgia, the Court's health care decision will have a sweeping positive impact.
"Georgia has the fifth-highest number of residents in the United States who died prematurely because they did not have health insurance," said Sen. Horacena Tate (D-Atlanta). "This historic ruling by the court means Georgia families may not need to choose between food on table or costly health care."
Fort said about 55 percent of the state's population - or 5.2 million Georgians - obtain health insurance through an employer-sponsored plan. About 2.2 million have some form of public coverage (such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Peach Care) and just over 340,000 Georgians purchase private health insurance on the individual market.
"More than 1.6 million are uninsured," Fort said. "Health care should not be a luxury item reserved for some. It must be affordable and accessible to anyone who needs it. Our High Court appears to understand the needs of struggling families."
Senate Democrats said that during the past few years, rather than tackling the problems of Georgia's uninsured families in a way that maximizes quality coverage for as many people in our state as possible, the state's Republican administration has focused on suppressing initiatives that would have provided financial relief.
States were supposed to have filed their health care exchange programs last year and by January 2013 Georgia should be in the implementation stage of the exchange program. Instead, Georgia is one of about a dozen states who chose not file a plan.
"The GOP leadership wagered against the people of Georgia. Now, we all wait to see what the administration does to play catch up," Fort said.
Many aspects of the Health Care Exchange and Affordable Care Act are unobjectionable to even the most conservative thinkers. Democrats said Republicans would do well to take advantage of the most financially prudent parts of the Act for the sake of our uninsured and the wellbeing of families.
State Democratic Senators said a consumer-friendly health care exchange they proposed during the 2012 legislative session would have increased healthcare providers and insurance transparency, increased competition, and driven down the costs.
Within Georgia, uninsured rates vary between different regions of the state, from a low of 12 percent uninsured in the East Metro Public Health District to a high of 24 percent uninsured in the Clayton Public Health District. The South Central and Southeast Public Health Districts also report high levels of the uninsured.
Fort said its time for Georgia Republicans to step to the table with ideas on how to improve access to health care and health insurance. While he said there might certainly be some who use this decision for political maneuvering, the victory is for the common person.
"Any legislative proposals should be people-centric, not politics-centric. This "win" on the health care front appears in the people's column," Fort said.
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