Senator Bert Johnson (D-Detroit) made the following statement on this morning’s ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by the United States Supreme Court:

I applaud the United States Supreme Court decision that has upheld the entire health care reform law, including the individual mandate. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Elena Kagan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor have ruled in the interests of the people of the United States of America.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, now unbound by partisan gamesmanship and positioning, will be free to do what it was intended: expand the access and affordability of health services to millions of American citizens. Many provisions, such as allowing dependents to remain on their parents' plans until they are 26 years old and allowing individuals with pre-existing conditions to join a temporary high-risk pool, have already been implemented. We now look forward to preventive care coverage, competitive exchanges within which individuals may purchase insurance and the prohibition of annual spending caps, among other things. Eventually, this law will expand healthcare access to more than 30 million Americans who currently lack it.

Today justice has truly been done. This achievement has been long-sought. It is unthinkable that based on incomes, geography or socio-economic standing, the America we know and love would deny health insurance coverage to any family. This decision reaffirms the commitment we have as progressives to the betterment of our society. It is my hope that moving forward we can put partisan politics aside and focus on meaningful ways to improve the lives of the American people, the economy of the United States and the health of all of our friends, neighbors and loved ones.

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Senator Bert Johnson (D-Detroit) represents Michigan’s 2nd District, which includes northeast Detroit, Highland Park, Hamtramck, Harper Woods and the Grosse Pointe Communities. He can be reached at 517-974-7003.