Mississippians gathered earlier this month to protest the Affordable Care Act in front of the federal courthouse in Jackson. This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the act. Photo by Elizabeth Waibel.

JACKSON — This morning's historic decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the majority of President Barack Obama's 2010 Affordable Care Act means that millions of Mississippians will continue to enjoy the benefits of the law—and more will see benefits in the future.

Among the benefits already in place:

• 1.4 million Mississippians with private insurance are no longer subject to lifetime limits from their providers.

• 150,000 who buy their own insurance can no longer have their coverage rescinded due to a mistake on their application.

• As of last December, an estimated 37,000 young adults in Mississippi retained their insurance by staying on their parents' plan until age 26.

• Insurance companies can no longer exclude 181,000 children due to pre-existing conditions.

• 34,536 people with Medicare in Mississippi received a $250 rebate to help cover the cost of their prescription drugs when they hit the donut hole in 2010. Since the law was enacted, Mississippi residents with Medicare have saved a total of $33,391,044 on their prescription drugs.

• In 2011, 357,504 people with Medicare in Mississippi received free preventive services--such as mammograms and colonoscopies--or a free annual wellness visit with their doctor. In the first five months of 2012, 172,588 people with Medicare received free preventive services. Because of the law, 54 million Americans with private health insurance gained preventive service coverage with no cost-sharing, including 430,000 in Mississippi.

For more information on how Mississippians have benefitted from the Affordable Care Act and how the law will affect us in the future, go to http://www.healthcare.gov/law/resources/ms.html.