83R10842 BPG-D
By: Walle H.R. No. 1247
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, In March of 2010, the United States Congress enacted
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to address the
nation's urgent health care crisis; and
WHEREAS, Before passage of the Affordable Care Act, the $2.5
trillion health care industry accounted for about 17 percent of
U.S. gross domestic product but left tens of millions of Americans
uninsured; many who were excluded from insurance coverage
eventually consumed health care services for which others paid,
since our law and culture do not permit hospitals to turn away
people in need of emergency treatment; each year, some $73 billion
in costs for uninsured patients was shifted to others, raising the
average family's annual insurance premium by about $1,000 and
increasing the burden on taxpayers by at least $30 billion; and
WHEREAS, After extensive study, Congress passed the
Affordable Care Act, and on March 23, 2010, President Obama signed
it into law; the ACA builds on the existing nationwide system of
employer-based health insurance and expands Medicaid eligibility
to those with incomes below 1-1/3 times the federal poverty level,
among other measures; the act is expected to extend care to more
than 30 million previously uninsured Americans; and
WHEREAS, Opponents almost immediately began working to undo
the law in Congress or the courts; in 2011, the Supreme Court agreed
to hear a challenge to the Affordable Care Act, centering on the
question of whether Congress has the constitutional power to
require people to purchase health insurance or face a penalty
through the so-called "individual mandate"; the court's landmark
decision of June 28, 2012, upheld the law, ruling that the financial
penalty might reasonably be characterized as a tax and that such a
tax is permitted under the constitution; and
WHEREAS, The Supreme Court's ruling on the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act cleared the way for the United States to
proceed with implementing the law, and millions of Americans now
look forward to gaining health care coverage; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas
Legislature hereby recognize that the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act was enacted by the United States Congress and
signed by the president of the United States, and it is now the law
of the land, as per the historic Supreme Court decision of June 28,
2012.