Matheson Statement on Supreme Court Health Care Law Ruling

Statement

Congressman Jim Matheson issued the following statement in reaction to the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act:

"Today's Supreme Court ruling answers some questions and raises some new ones, and we should all thoroughly review the details outlined by the Court. The constitutional issues have been addressed and as Chief Justice Roberts said, it is the role of Congress to weigh the legislative merits of this policy. We can now do so with full access to the ruling on the law's constitutionality.

As we consider the future of the law in the weeks ahead, I reflect on the emotional, complicated discussion about health care that has occurred during the past two years. It is important to remember that while there are many perspectives, a goal we all share is reform that ensures access to quality health care at an affordable price.

We know health care expenditures in America are projected to climb faster than the overall economy throughout the next decade, which is the same trend we have seen for the past 30 years. By 2021, health care will account for nearly a fifth of the economy if action is not taken to curb growing costs. This is an unsustainable trend.

From the beginning, I voted against the Affordable Care Act because it failed to address the critical issue of rising health care costs. Increased access to health care is an important objective but that goal alone does not provide the reforms that are needed to lower costs. Today's ruling raises additional concerns about increased federal costs and also possible new taxes for modest income folks who may not be included in the law's expansion of Medicaid.

There is a lot of work to do in order to achieve the right reforms for health care in our country. I stand ready to work with both parties on constructive, bipartisan solutions to this challenge."

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