The course of American politics could take an historic turn tomorrow, as the Supreme Court is set to announce its verdict on President Barack Obama’s health care law (the Affordable Care Act).
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The outcome will not only be a major talking point leading up to the election, but if the court does overturn the law, we have to start from the beginning and “re-fight” a battle that has already been won, sending the country “backwards” over the issue of health care.
The possible outcomes include: the court upholds the law, overturns it in its entirety, or strikes some provisions of the law.
If the court upholds the law it will definitely be a feather in Obama’s cap leading into November, but a huge blow to his campaign if it’s struck down, giving Republican contender Mitt Romney more ammunition to attack the President.
The main issue at hand is whether or not the government should mandate that individuals must purchase health insurance, aka the individual mandate.
Another component of the act is the expansion of Medicaid, as opponents of the law feel that states shouldn’t have to pay for the expansion of the health care program for the poor.
With a ruling on the horizon, we discuss the possible outcomes of the high court decision slated for tomorrow morning.
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If the court upholds the law in its entirety, then more than 50 million uninsured people will be covered.
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If the law stands, Republicans will try with their best efforts to block it and if Mitt Romney is elected, a repeal will be on the books.
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What’s the alternative to Obama’s law? The GOP’s law would not cover nearly as many uninsured, and it’s unclear how much of a dent they would make in costs. Government-run health insurance will likely emerge as the only viable answer if Obama’s public-private approach fails.
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If the law is gone completely? People with health insurance could lose some ground as employers and insurance companies would have no obligation to keep providing health benefits such as preventive care with no copayments.
Young adults under their parents plan would be off and Medicare recipients with high prescription drug costs could lose discounts averaging about $600.
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What if the court strikes down the individual mandate? Then individuals would have no obligation to carry insurance, but insurers would remain bound by the law to accept applicants regardless of medical condition and limit what they charge their oldest and sickest customers.
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Without the mandate, millions of uninsured low-income people still would get coverage through the law’s Medicaid expansion.
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If the expansion of Medicaid is thrown out, it would mean that the limit of the law would impact roughly 15 million people expected to gain insurance, especially for low-income people.
