“The National Indian Health Board is pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision to protect the Affordable Care Act, which also secures the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, a primary legal foundation and the framework for the entire American Indian and Alaska Native health system,” NIHB Chairman William Smith said in a news release on Friday. “The ACA and IHCIA offers American Indians and Alaska Natives new and viable options for health coverage, and that coverage brings peace of mind and added security of knowing that the poorly funded Indian Health Service system is bolstered. If our people need specialty care, then they can get it,” added Smith, who also serves as vice president of the Valdez Native Tribe, based in Alaska. “It is a giant step away from rationing health care and provides the opportunity for our people to get the care they need when they need it,” Smith said, stressing the importance of the permanent reauthorization of the ICHIA.SUPREME COURT WATCH
— indianz.com (@indianz) June 17, 2021
Still no word on the only Indian law case left on the docket but the US Supreme Court on June 17, 2021, brought good news in another matter of interest in tribal communities.
The Affordable Care Act survived yet another legal challenge in California v. Texas. pic.twitter.com/OHPEpq7AXR
The vote in the case 7 to 2, with even the more conservative-leaning members of the Supreme Court agreeing to turn back the GOP challenge. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the majority opinion, holding that the states lacked legal standing to bring the lawsuit in the first place. “We proceed no further than standing,” Breyer, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic former president Bill Clinton, wrote in the 16-page opinion. “Neither the individual nor the state plaintiffs have shown that the injury they will suffer or have suffered is ‘fairly traceable’ to the ‘allegedly unlawful conduct’ of which they complain,” Breyer continued in a decision joined by justices nominated by Democratic and Republican presidents alike.NIHB, representing the health interests of 574 federally recognized Tribes, applauds the US Supreme Court for upholding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in a 7-2 decision on California v. Texas that challenged the law as unconstitutional.
— NIHB (@NIHB1) June 18, 2021
Read the release: https://t.co/wPYJccPP7L pic.twitter.com/6Ca0RWCBST

Although the federal government was the target of the lawsuit, the case that went before the Supreme Court was known as known primarily as California v. Texas. California took a lead role in the dispute, as its Democratic former attorney general Xavier Becerra stepped up to defend the ACA and the IHCIA. Becerra, who also defended ICWA from attacks by Texas and other states, now serves as Secretary of Health and Human Services in Biden’s administration. In that role, he oversees the IHS, which is responsible for providing care to 2.6 million American Indians and Alaska Natives in 37 states. “As a member of Congress, I helped draft and pass the ACA. As the Attorney General of California, I took this case all the way to the Supreme Court,” Becerra said in a statement. “And now, as Secretary, I will continue to stand up and stand with you to protect access to affordable health care.”The ACA is here to stay. Thanks to @POTUS’ Marketplace Special Enrollment Period, you can go to https://t.co/KLnVs6BDcC and sign up for affordable, quality coverage for you and your family.
— Secretary Xavier Becerra (@SecBecerra) June 17, 2021
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