Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, upheld the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in California v. Texas.  

The ACA is a critical safety net for the nearly 17 million cancer patients and survivors across the U.S., including protections for people with pre-existing conditions and eliminating patient cost-sharing for essential health benefits, such as critical cancer screening tests. A record 31 million people are currently receiving quality, comprehensive, and affordable health care under the ACA, through health insurance marketplaces and Medicaid expansion.  

The ACA became even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent public health emergency and economic downturn for millions of individuals and families nationwide. In the last 4 months alone, more than 1.2 million people have enrolled in health insurance at HealthCare.gov during the federal marketplace’s Special Enrollment Period. 

The Cancer Support Community (CSC), the largest professionally led non-profit network of cancer support worldwide, issued the following statement in response: 

“We applaud the Supreme Court justices who sided with patients and ruled that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to challenge the ACA. For more than a decade, this law has been the foundation of significant progress in making health care more affordable and accessible for millions of Americans, especially those affected by cancer.  

The Court’s decision does not mark the conclusion of efforts to address health care challenges; it is a continuation of our quest to improve a health care system with longstanding inequities and other barriers that emotionally and financially impact the millions of people with cancer and other serious medical conditions.  

In light of today’s decision to keep the ACA as the law of the land, we look forward to working with lawmakers at all levels of government and allies to ensure that the patient experience is at the center of future policy advancements.”