Tag: Affordable Care Act

Supreme Court upholds ObamaCare in 7-2 ruling

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The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld ObamaCare against the latest Republican challenge, preserving the landmark law and its key protections for millions of people with preexisting health conditions.

The justices ruled 7-2 that the GOP challengers lacked standing to sue, in a decision that marks the third major challenge to ObamaCare, or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), to be rebuffed by the Supreme Court in roughly a decade.

The case arose after 18 Republican states brought a legal challenge in 2018 aimed at striking down the ACA. Continue reading.

‘A sea change’: Subsidies and White House push leads to surge in Obamacare sign-ups

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“It’s like a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m blown away,” said a woman who was able to afford health insurance for the first time in 12 years.

Sheryl Hagen was earning $13.25 an hour after working more than five years at a Missouri grocery store. But even working full time, she couldn’t afford the $300 premium for her employer’s health insurance plan — so she went without.

Earlier this year, Hagen, 51, broke her ribs and the resulting hospital stay led to a $1,300 bill. She didn’t have enough to pay it, and taking time off to recover only put her further behind.

“I couldn’t move and couldn’t work and couldn’t really do anything,” she said. “And then I knew I was going to have these giant bills coming at me. It was terrifying.” Continue reading.

Billions in New Obamacare Subsidies Are Now Available on Healthcare.gov

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Nearly everyone with a marketplace health plan can seek more financial help. Many uninsured Americans and people who buy their insurance elsewhere can also benefit.

Federal officials have reprogrammed Healthcare.gov, making new benefits available to tens of millions of Americans, weeks after Congress authorized spending billions on additional health law subsidies.

The Biden administration has doubled Obamacare’s advertising budget to get the word out, and will now spend $100 million telling Americans about newly affordable options.

Nearly everyone with an Affordable Care Act health plan can now qualify for increased financial help with premiums by going back to the website. Many Americans who buy their own insurance outside the A.C.A. marketplaces may also qualify for substantial help, and may benefit from reviewing options and switching to an eligible plan. Uninsured Americans also qualify. Continue reading.

11 Years of the ACA

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In 2010 America’s most significant overhaul and expansion of healthcare coverage since Medicare and Medicaid were passed, known as the Affordable Care Act. The positive effects from its passage have been monumental: In the past 11 years, it has helped millions of Americans, saved lives, and strengthened the American healthcare system.

The Affordable Care Act has helped Americans across the country in various aspects ranging from more affordable drug prices, protection for preexisting conditions, improving access to healthcare for young adults and rural communities, expanding protections for women and disabled people, and many other things. It has reduced the number of uninsured Americans to historically low numbers and helped more people access healthcare, especially low-income earners and POC.

In the years since it was put into effect, over 20 million Americans have registered and over 135 million with preexisting conditions are protected. Since the law’s passage, it’s estimated that the ACA has saved seniors $20 billion on prescription drug costs, and has saved women an estimated $1.4 billion in birth control pills alone.

Continue reading “11 Years of the ACA”

Key conservative justices express openness to preserving ObamaCare’s protections

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Two conservative justices on the Supreme Court appeared prepared to preserve at least some of the major components of ObamaCare, including its protections for people with preexisting conditions, as they heard arguments Tuesday in a suit challenging the law.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh seemed to express the view that if the court were to strike down the provision of the law mandating the purchase of health insurance, the rest of the law should be allowed to survive.

“Looking at our severability precedents, it does seem fairly clear that the proper remedy would be to sever the mandate provision and leave the rest of the act in place, the provisions regarding preexisting conditions and the rest,” Kavanaugh said. Continue reading.

Political gaze shifts to the Supreme Court as justices hear pivotal health care case

The argument marks the first major case for Justice Amy Coney Barrett

The Supreme Court with new Justice Amy Coney Barrett hears oral argument Tuesday in a case that threatens to wipe out the 2010 health care law, likely the term’s most consequential case, under a political spotlight that rarely shines brighter on justices who would rather stay out of it.

In the third major test for President Barack Obama’s signature law at the high court, the focus at oral argument largely will be on whether the justices will follow one of several ways to let the law stand, even though it is a more conservative court than in previous challenges.

It is the first major case for Barrett, who arrived after a divisive confirmation fight in the Senate that largely focused on what she might do in this case. President Donald Trump said in an interview with “60 Minutes” that he hopes the Supreme Court ends the law known as the Affordable Care Act — “It will be so good if they end it” — and Democrats argued that’s why he appointed her. Continue reading.

The Republican ‘Protect Act’ Will Protect Nobody’s Health Care

As Election Day draws near, another important date is looming for tens of millions of Americans with preexisting health conditions: Nov. 10, the day the Supreme Court will hear arguments on striking down the Affordable Care Act.

Despite the claims of Republican lawmakers, who swear abolishing Obamacare will not result in millions losing insurance, an examination of their alternative, the so-called Protect Act, shows that they’re lying through their teeth.

The GOP effort to bulldoze the ACA was put on blast Wednesday when Democrat Jon Ossoff, whom current poll averages show in a tight race against Georgia Republican incumbent Sen. David Perdue, confronted Perdue during a debate with his deceptive talking points on the future of the American health care system. Continue reading.

While President Trump Vows to Rip Away Health Care from Millions of Americans, Jason Lewis Says He and Trump Are ‘Joined at the Hip’

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – In an interview with 60 Minutes this week, President Donald Trump made it clear he wants the Supreme Court to end the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Meanwhile, U.S. Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis affirms his unyielding loyalty to Donald Trump, instead of Minnesotans.

Lewis has always been quick to fall in line behind Trump. In an interview with Fox News this week, Lewis declared “I’m running with the President and glad to do it. We’re joined at the hip.”

It’s no surprise that Lewis is on board with President Trump’s plan to rip away health care from millions of Americans and gut protections for those with pre-existing conditions by overturning the ACA. Lewis has declared that he has “no disagreements” with President Trump and can’t name even one policy he disagrees with. The former congressman alsoadvocated to “get rid of the pre-existing condition mandate,” told struggling families who can’t afford insulin that the “government is not compassionate,” and said that if they needed help to “go out and find it.” This is all on top of hisrecord of voting to repeal the ACA.

Trump says he hopes Supreme Court strikes down ObamaCare

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President Trump says in an interview with “60 Minutes” that he would like to see the Supreme Court “end” the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and that he would announce his own health care plan after the case is ruled on.

“It is developed. It is fully developed. It is going to be announced very soon when we see what happens with ObamaCare, which is not good,” Trump said when questioned by CBS News correspondent Lesley Stahl on why he hasn’t released the health care plan that he has long promised.

“It will be much less expensive than ObamaCare, which is a disaster, and it will take care of people with preexisting conditions,” he continued. Continue reading.

The Chaos of Repealing the Affordable Care Act During the Coronavirus Pandemic

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With the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg just weeks before the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the latest health care repeal lawsuit, the fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is completely uncertain. Repealing the ACA at any point since its passage would have been disastrous to the health and economic security of millions of Americans. But repealing the ACA in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic that has infected more than 7 million Americans and killed more than 200,000 Americans is morally reprehensible.

More than 20 million people would lose their health coverage, and more than 135 million people would lose protections for their preexisting conditions, including millions of COVID-19 survivors. Repealing the ACA in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic would create chaos across the entire health care system; weaken the country’s public health and economy recovery; and rip affordable health care coverage from millions of people at a time when access to health care services is absolutely essential.

People with preexisting conditions and disabilities, including COVID-19 survivors, would be vulnerable to discrimination by insurers

Before the ACA, insurers could discriminate against people with preexisting conditions by charging people with certain health conditions higher premiums; excluding coverage for services related to those conditions; or denying coverage outright. The ACA protects people with preexisting conditions, including people with disabilities and chronic health conditions, by prohibiting these practices. In addition, it also requires coverage of essential health benefits (EHBs) so that insurers cannot limit benefits to lower costs or discourage people who need care from enrolling in their plans. The ACA also bans lifetime and annual limits so that insurers cannot cap how much they pay for medical care each year or over a person’s lifetime. Continue reading.