Most people believe that the future of health reform rests in the hands of the nine Supreme Court justices currently deliberating over constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. While their decision could be a game changer, it should not be misconstrued as the last word in health reform.

That will come from those of us in the state legislatures who will have the courage to stand up and continue the march toward providing accessible and affordable care for all New Mexicans.

The Affordable Care Act finally acknowledges that access to high-quality health care was hampered by an insurance market that left millions with coverage that had gaps as wide as a hospital gown that is, if you even had a hospital gown. The law brings fairness and equality that should have been provided all along, but far too often was not.

For example, more than 23,000 university students in New Mexico like Kelli Grady, 23, are now able to remain on their parents insurance plan until they reach 26.

Regardless of what the Supreme Court rules, we wont go back to the old broken system that put so many in New Mexico at risk. The ACA helped people with pre-existing conditions, many of them children, finally access the care they need after being denied for years. More than 850 people are now getting care through the federal high-risk pool established here, and training for the health care workforce we have needed for so long is now under way at colleges and universities around the state, thanks to the act.

It finally makes health plans work for consumers by requiring that lifesaving preventive services such as cancer screenings, immunizations and well-visits for children are included on every plan without co-pays. For seniors, the Affordable Care Act strengthens Medicare and provides seniors in the prescription-drug doughnut hole assistance to provide the medication they need already saving New Mexico seniors around $10 million.

The Affordable Care Act was modeled after policies that had already been successfully implemented in states like Massachusetts and New Mexico. More important, it created momentum to start implementing real change on an issue that has plagued our country for decades. Regardless of the Supreme Court decision, state legislators will continue to be the leaders implementing creative solutions to the unique health needs of our state, and will continue to strive for affordability, security and quality of care for all residents.

We have done it before in New Mexico through hard-fought battles in the Legislature to provide transparency in insurance rate hike requests, prohibitions on rolling back coverage after a subscriber gets sick and limits on insurance company profit and administration charges. We have enabled parents to add their children onto their policies until they reach age 25, and expanded our Medicaid program to include a private-public partnership for low-income employees just above the eligibility level.

We know this is only a start: Continued innovation is needed to improve the affordability, security and quality of care for everyone in the Land of Enchantment.

As state legislators, we refuse to allow New Mexico to revert to a system in which big insurance makes all the decisions for our residents health care needs. Its a matter of basic fairness to those who are ill which will ultimately include all of us. We hope you will hold us and other state lawmakers accountable for protecting the gains we have made and going further to serve all New Mexicans.

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Health Care’s Future In State Legislatures