Friday, April 3, 2015
Commonwealth Fund Reports Millions Could Lose Coverage in Latest ACA Challenge
The Supreme Court, once again, holds the fate of the Affordable Care Act in its hands. The first challenge to the law involved significant constitutional questions. This time, not so much.
The latest challenge, King v. Burwell, does not raise important constitutional issues — the ACA was already ruled constitutional. However, the potential impact could do real damage. Millions of Americans could lose insurance coverage, premiums would increase dramatically — making insurance unaffordable for many in the individual market — and hospitals would lose funding for uncompensated care. Historic changes that have made affordable health care accessible to more Americans would be erased.
According to the Commonwealth Fund, a subsidy shutdown could result in 9.6 million fewer people with coverage by 2016, a 70 percent decline. The resulting adverse selection caused by healthy people leaving the risk pool could increase insurance premiums in the individual market by 47 percent....