Executive VP April Verrett Responds to the SCOTUS Ruling on ACA

After the extraordinary news yesterday that the Supreme Court upheld President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, a group of seniors, people with disabilities, community activists, and SEIU HCII members gathered outside of Daley Plaza to hold a rally and press conference in celebration of this critical decision.

“This is so amazing, a great victory for all of the people in America who have had to do without health care for so long,” said Doris Atkins, a child care provider.  “I am overwhelmed and so grateful to the Supreme Court, President Obama, and all of the people who worked so hard to pass the Affordable Care Act in the first place!”

The Affordable Care Act offers relief to working families during the toughest economic crisis we’ve faced in over a generation by ensuring that all Americans will have the promise of affordable health care, access to preventative care, and so much more.  This was a resounding victory for working people and the more than 100 million Americans of all political parties, ages, incomes, and occupations who are benefiting from the ACA.  In Illinois alone, this law has already played an instrumental role in making health care more affordable and accessible for millions:

• More than 3.6 million residents became entitled to preventative medical services, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, without having to pay deductibles or co-pays.
• More than 100,000 uninsured young adults under the age of 26 became eligible for coverage under the parents’ health insurance. 
• More than 150,000 seniors with Medicare received a $250 rebate to cover the cost of their prescription drugs once they hit the so-called donut hole.

“I am so especially proud of this moment for the 70,000 members of our union who provide health care everyday, to the poorest, to the sickest, and to the most vulnerable citizens in our great state of Illinois,” said Executive Vice President April Verrett at yesterday’s rally.  “Our members see firsthand everyday how the abuses and inequities in our current health care system cause pain for so many families.”

Check out more of our Executive Vice President April Verrett’s comments at yesterday’s rally below: