BOSTON, Mass.—Fenway Health commends the U.S. Supreme Court for ruling 6-3 in favor of federally-run insurance marketplaces. Because of a legal challenge to the federally-run insurance exchanges, some 6.5 million newly-insured Americans were at risk of losing their health insurance. Altogether 16.4 million Americans are newly insured through private insurance or Medicaid since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in January 2014.
“The Affordable Care Act has led to the largest expansion of health insurance coverage since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965,” said Stephen Boswell, MD, FACP, President & CEO of Fenway Health. “Because they were less likely to have health insurance, LGBT people and people living with HIV have disproportionately benefited from the ACA’s expansion, as have Black and Latino Americans. The Supreme Court’s ruling today is an important affirmation of the Affordable Care Act and the important role it is playing in addressing this important structural cause of racial/ethnic health disparities and LGBT health disparities.” [pullquote]“Because they were less likely to have health insurance, LGBT people and people living with HIV have disproportionately benefited from the ACA’s expansion, as have Black and Latino Americans. The Supreme Court’s ruling today is an important affirmation of the Affordable Care Act and the important role it is playing in addressing this important structural cause of racial/ethnic health disparities and LGBT health disparities.”—Stephen Boswell, MD, FACP, President & CEO of Fenway Health[/pullquote]
Read the full text of the King v. Burwell decision here: www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-114_qol1.pdf.
For more than forty years, Fenway Health has been working to make life healthier for the people in our neighborhood, the LGBT community, people living with HIV/AIDS and the broader population. The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health is an interdisciplinary center for research, training, education and policy development focusing on national and international health issues. Fenway’s Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center cares for youth and young adults ages 12 to 29 who may not feel comfortable going anywhere else, including those who are LGBT or just figuring things out; homeless; struggling with substance use; or living with HIV/AIDS. In 2013, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts joined the Fenway Health family, allowing both organizations to improve delivery of care and services across the state and beyond.
[From a News Release]
