Pea. Democratic Party: As Supreme Court Votes to Uphold Affordable Care Act, Lou Barletta Fought Relentlessly Throughout His Career to Tear It Down

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania, June 18 -- The Pennsylvania Democratic Party issued the following news:

The Supreme Court voted 7-2 to uphold the Affordable Care Act and protect health care coverage for millions of Americans -- coverage that GOP candidate for governor Lou Barletta fought to rip away throughout his career. While in Congress, Lou Barletta co-sponsored a resolution calling the ACA unconstitutional and voted multiple times to repeal the landmark health care legislation, which provides health care coverage to nearly a million Pennsylvanians.

If those bills had passed, Barletta's votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act would have eliminated protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions -- including 5.3 million Pennsylvanians.

While Barletta fought time and time again to take away health care for millions, Democrats worked to build on the Affordable Care Act and expanded Medicaid, a move that provided coverage for an estimated additional 680,000 Pennsylvanians.

"Every Pennsylvanian deserves access to affordable and equitable health care," said Pennsylvania Democratic Party spokesman Brendan Welch. "While Democrats in the Commonwealth have fought tirelessly to make affordable health care access a reality, Lou Barletta tried time after time to rip away coverage for millions. Barletta's disastrous health care record will be a major problem for him if he survives the nasty and crowded GOP primary. Now that the Supreme Court affirmed that the Affordable Care Act is here to stay, Pennsylvanians need leaders who will work to build on it and expand it -- not tear it down."