Sen. Hickenlooper Welcomes Supreme Court Ruling Rejecting Challenge to Affordable Care Act

WASHINGTON, June 18 -- Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado, issued the following statement:

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U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper released the following statement after the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 to uphold the Affordable Care Act, rejecting a partisan challenge to the law that could have stripped health care from half a million Coloradans:

"The Affordable Care Act is settled law. The lawsuit sought to take health care away from millions, but the Court spoke on behalf of the American people. Now we need to continue our work to expand affordable, quality health care to everyone."

As governor, Hickenlooper used the ACA to expand Medicaid coverage to 400,000 Coloradans and create the state's Connect for Health Colorado insurance marketplace, which covers an additional 200,000 people. As senator, he supported the American Rescue Plan which lowered marketplace premiums by an average of 49 percent in Colorado.

The ruling in California v. Texas and Texas v. California is the third time the Supreme Court has rejected an attempt to strike down the landmark health care law.