Statement Regarding the U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in King v. Burwell

From George B. Hernández Jr., president and CEO of University Health System: Today’s Supreme Court decision upholding the availability of subsidies in every U.S. state is a major victory for the people of Bexar County and South Texas. About 94,000 Bexar County residents are among the more than 1 million in Texas who bought health coverage through the federal marketplace. These are our neighbors who are benefiting from access to affordable healthcare services under the Affordable Care Act and who can now rest easier knowing they won’t return to the medical and financial uncertainty of the past.

Despite this victory, we cannot forget that many, many of our neighbors remain uninsured. We at University Health System will continue to advocate for a Texas solution that would expand affordable healthcare coverage, as well as access to important preventive healthcare services, to roughly another 100,000 Bexar County residents. These are the most vulnerable low-wage workers in our community who earn too little to qualify for the subsidies that the Supreme Court upheld today, and too much under the state’s Medicaid requirements. This Texas Way solution, a private-market-based coverage plan using available federal funds, is built on Texas values and requires personal responsibility through cost-sharing, incentives for people to work and other requirements.

If we continue to reduce the ranks of the uninsured in Texas, we will all reap the benefits of a healthier and more productive state, and a reduced burden on local taxpayers.