Congressman Bill Keating welcomed the latest ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that upheld a section of the Affordable Care Act that provided taxpayer subsidies for low-income residents in nearly three dozen states that have not set up health insurance exchanges.

Keating called the 6-3 decision a "common sense" ruling which ensures that millions of Americans who were able to get health insurance through the Affordable Care Act will now be able to keep their coverage.

"Since the Affordable Care Act more than 16 million Americans have gained coverage, coverage they did not have before" says Keating "and the uninsured rate in our country is the lowest ever at 11 percent, so these are important things to reinforce."

Keating also says that, even though Massachusetts has a state run health exchange, if the Supreme Court ruled differently it would have a negative impact on the Southcoast.

"As much as this would have been undercut it also undercuts programs that we do have as a result of the Affordable Care Act things that help fund our community health centers," says Keating "so there would have been an effect locally with this as well, it just wouldn't have been as immediate or severe."

Keating also says by upholding this section of the Affordable Care Act the ruling will help to ensure that the U.S. is more competitive in the global economy.

"We represent an advanced country, unlike so many other people we compete with in the global market that had insurance for their folks, we didn't, and this really will help us be on an equal footing as we compete with other countries globally, economically," says Keating.

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