Gov. Neil Abercrombie is announcing that Hawaii will join several other states in legal papers defending the health care reform law that President Barack Obama and Congress enacted last year.

In a statement today, the Democratic governor called the law a "momentous step forward" that preserved the best elements of Hawaii’s long-standing health care statutes.

Democrats say the national law has awarded $22 million to help Hawaii families, including nearly 20,500 seniors, pay their prescription drug expenses.

Hawaii joined a friend-of-the-court brief with California, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maryland, Oregon, New York and Vermont.

It was filed Wednesday in the appeal of a federal district court ruling in Michigan that upheld the law.