Ruling a major milestone: Public health helps pave path to victory
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* Teddi Dineley Johnson

With a nod to the work of public health professionals, Americans across the country are celebrating the Supreme Court’s landmark decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Signed into law by President Barack Obama in March 2010, the law aims to fix the nation’s broken health system by ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable, quality health insurance.

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From left, Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby and Amy Whitcomb Slemmer, executive director of Health Care for All, at a Boston news conference applauding the court decision. Health advocates nationwide celebrated June 28.

Photo by Elise Amendola, AP Images

Helping to pave the path to the June 28 court victory, public health has been at the forefront of work to promote and protect the law’s crucial provisions. From meetings to letter-writing campaigns to testimonials, advocates — whether in their communities, states or in Congress — have worked tirelessly to ensure the law’s implementation and deflect the relentless attacks by detractors who are seeking to dismantle it.

“We’re proud to have played a significant role in achieving this momentous change,” Larry Cohen, MSW, executive director of the Prevention Institute, told *The Nation’s Health*. “Public health leaders work in and with the community, so we effectively engaged diverse voices collaborating for health reform. We brought the critical notion that good health requires quality prevention changes in the community environment, as well as improved medical care for all, and again and again stood up for both.”

Even before the Affordable Care Act became law, public health professionals were on the front lines, said Kathleen Stoll, JD, MA, deputy executive director of Families USA.

“Professional public health personnel are on the front lines in our communities, talking to patients and educators today and they are helping folks understand what’s in the law and how it can help them,” Stoll said.

Though the Supreme Court has upheld the law, public health must continue to play a key role in the fight to protect it from opponents who seek to repeal it, Stoll said.

APHA has been at the forefront of promoting and protecting the law and will continue to be a leader. The Association was part of friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the law and created a range of resources on the Affordable Care Act, including briefs on the prevention and public health workforce provisions contained in the law, and a timeline for implementing the provisions. Through meetings, letters and testimony to Congress and federal agencies, APHA worked to create strong support for the Affordable Care Act. APHA members played key roles by contacting and meeting with their elected officials and touting the benefits of the law.

“While we celebrate this major public health victory, we must work to ensure the law reaches its full potential,” said APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (E).

*   Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association