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Pallone Statement on Start of King v. Burwell Arguments

March 4, 2015

Highlights 388,000 New Jerseyans Who Could Lose Tax Credits to Help Pay for Health Insurance

WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, released the following statement today as the Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments in the case King v. Burwell, a legal challenge to the financial assistance that millions of Americans are receiving to purchase health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. This would mean that, 388,000 New Jerseyans, including 36,000 people living in Congressman Pallone’s district, would lose their tax credits, totaling $176 million annually, that are already helping them pay for health insurance:

“Since day one, our commitment has been to provide quality, affordable health insurance for all Americans. Regardless of whether a state chose to operate its own marketplace or let its residents purchase insurance in the federal marketplace, the entire country would have improved access to health care. And as the marketplaces were established, tax credits were available to any American who was eligible, just as the law was written and intended.

“This case is nothing more than another partisan attack on the Affordable Care Act and attempts to undermine Americans’ access to health care and the health security that they now enjoy. An adverse ruling would be disruptive to the 388,000 New Jerseyans, including 36,000 people living in my district, who are relying on these tax credits, and catastrophic to the our health care system as a whole.”