Tim Kaine Statement on Supreme Court Decision

From the Kaine campaign:

Richmond, VA – Following the Supreme Court’s decision affirming the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, former Governor and U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine today released the following statement:

“The Affordable Care Act is an important first step in curbing discriminatory insurance company practices and increasing access to health care, but more needs to be done to bring down costs. Our government, businesses, and citizens cannot continue to spend more than any other nation on health care while getting second-rate results. As Senator, I am committed to working with all stakeholders to find additional improvements to the Affordable Care Act that give all Americans affordable access to high quality services.

“While there is more work to do, it is worth noting what has already been accomplished under the Affordable Care Act.  Nearly 63,000 more young people in Virginia have health coverage, more than 800,000 Virginia seniors have received free preventive care, millions of small businesses are now eligible for tax credits, and twenty million American women have access to cancer screenings and contraception without co-pays. And we’ve put an end to the egregious abuses by insurance companies that denied coverage to children with preexisting conditions, charged women higher premiums for the same coverage, and dropped folks when they got sick.

“My opponent regularly calls for a full repeal of this law, despite the positive results it’s already delivering for Virginia.  In the decade encompassing George Allen’s six years as a U.S. Senator, the average insurance premium for families more than doubled and over 12 million more Americans were uninsured.  Clearly, inaction was not a solution, and neither are continued calls for repeal.  Instead we must work together to strengthen this existing program and improve cost controls.”