Patient and health advocacy groups representing millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions filed an amicus curiae or friend of the court brief today urging the U.S. Supreme Court to immediately take up the case of Texas v. United States. The case is the latest court challenge to the health care law known as the Affordable Care Act.

Seventeen of the nation’s leading patient advocacy groups are remaining steadfast in their commitment to protecting patients throughout the next phase of legal proceedings involving the health care law known as the Affordable Care Act.

Congress is poised to pass a funding bill this week that includes a $2.6 billion increase for medical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The measure, agreed upon by both House and Senate conference committee members, also provides $296 million increase for the National Cancer Institute (NCI).