November 10, 2020 – On Monday, the US Supreme Court once again heard another round of arguments about the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The nine Justices, including the newest, Amy Coney Barrett listened to arguments made by ‘several’ Solicitors General – US Attorneys representing government and state interests in the case of California v Texas, the former arguing for the ACA to stand – the latter that it should fail.
The Unending Fight Over the Affordable Care Act – Several States, the Trump Administration & House of Representatives – Weigh-in
First, the most unusual issue, is that Federal Solicitors General are trying to remove a popular law – the ACA, while it is presenting serving a large swath of Americans very well during this pandemic. The federal funding that is a large part of the ACA, is not only keeping people alive, but also keeping hospitals afloat in areas of the country where COVID is pushing them to capacity and straining their infrastructure. Yet, federal Solicitors General – prosecutors backed by the Trump-Administration made their way to the nation’s highest court, to argue the demise of the ACA – even though over 23 million Americans presently partake of its benefits. And the benefits to millions more Americans outside the ACA is enormous.
What are the Benefits of the ACA Outside of the Subscribers?
The ACA helps millions of Americans have healthcare when they would not otherwise qualify due to preexisting conditions, while it keeps pricing down for other Americans due to what is called “community rating standards.” That is, people with preexisting conditions, which unfortunately reflects the health conditions of most Americans, due to widespread obesity, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol – all of which are recognized as multi-risk factors for higher medical costs and severe illness associated with them. Before the ACA, insurers could and did deny coverage, or in the alternative, offer plans at exorbitant premiums even if coverage could be had. That scenarios is likely to repeat itself if the ACA goes a way, as it is a benchmark as a risk pool factor as well as a minimum coverage standard.
Without the ACA, insurers could easily rank high-risk people as high-risk, without the benefit of lower risk people in the risk pool. Not only that, it could once again set extraordinary out of pocket maximums, prevent reinsurance after a high-risk is determined, or exclude those it deems high risk or with multiple risk factors pushing many families outside the ACA into bankruptcy. Besides providing coverage when the entire world is sick, the ACA sets standards so Americans don’t buy “junk” insurance – the type of insurance that looks good on paper, has low premiums, but has virtually no coverage if someone gets seriously ill or needs coverage for a high-risk or serious health conditions. The ACA smooths all that out by taking out the “risk” factor for “high” risk individuals and pools everyone’s risk, high and low to set a median standard.
Complaints about the ACA – What are People Overlooking?
Of course, many complain about the ACA saying it is unaffordable for them, the out of pockets are too high – but what they don’t look at is the risk – if some unforeseen catastrophic injury or illness befalls them – the low-cost insurance they had before the ACA was enacted would not cover the bulk of their claims. Of course, employer subsidized insurance will lower premiums for those lucky enough to have it – but even then, employees pay a good percentage take out of their paychecks – causing them to believe they are paying less for health insurance than they actually do.
Consumer Benefits When Buying Health Insurance Outside the ACA
And for those who buy insurance outside the ACA, they fail to see that generic prices are driven down by the power and magnitude of the ACA, as more pharmaceutical are developed and more generics become widely accessible, as more innovative therapeutics are created due to the stream of government monies into research and development. Because of the ACA, junk insurance cannot be peddled to unsuspecting consumers any more, nor can people be denied coverage, or extensions of coverage, because everyone shares in the “community risk pool” to drive down the cost of insurance. So those that are complaining about the ACA are nevertheless getting benefits they either do not understand or choose to ignore.
Several Republican-led States Lead the Charge Once Again to Fight he ACA in the US Supreme Court
The new round of attacks led by Republicans Attorneys General in several states and the Trump administration once again try to have the ACA declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court. The arguments by the respective states, claim they are being unfairly disadvantaged by those insured under the ACA – yet they ignore how they have benefited. In fact, many of the states at the center of the lawsuit – states such as Texas have benefited from states such as California that have put far more dollars into the system which other states have taken out – yet the complaining continues.
Now in the height of the pandemic, the Republican Attorneys General with the blessings of the Trump administration are trying to rip the law apart, so the entire law is struck down even though there is no longer a monetary penalty for those ignoring the mandate, those individual who elect to go without insurance – and the states that choose not to expand the Affordable Care Act – yet they are still suing. This is very troublesome, because everyone at some point will need insurance, and if they don’t get it, the hospitals will need to absorb the unpaid costs which will eventually find its way into everyone’s healthcare insurance bill.
Will the US Supreme Court Find the ACA Healthcare Mandate Unconstitutional?
So no matter what the court says, whether they try to rip the law apart, or hold part of it unconstitutional or send the entire law to the scrap-heap of history, one thing is for certain – the ACA has benefitted all Americans who need health insurance, whether they bought a plan offered in the ACA Marketplace or they got it through their employer.
So if you think it’s a good ideas to rip the entire ACA apart during a one hundred year pandemic – then have at it. Just don’t come crying when you become one of the people with catastrophic pre-existing conditions and have to decide whether to keep your home, declare bankruptcy, or live in poverty because you didn’t want someone else to get a better deal than you.
To learn more about the ACA, watch our video: The Affordable Care Act: Liberty, Justice & Healthcare for None… and others like it posted on our website.
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