If the Supreme Court ultimately takes the case and overturns the pillar, this could have a widespread impact on out-of-pocket health care costs, including costs for the HIV-prevention pill, known as PrEP.
A federal appeals court on Friday found unconstitutional a key component of the Affordable Care Act that grants a health task force the effective authority to require that insurers both cover an array of preventive health interventions and screenings and refrain from imposing out-of-pocket costs for them.
The lawsuit centered on the objections of a coalition of small businesses in Texas to the requirement that they cover a drug for HIV prevention, known as PrEP, in their employee health plans. The appeals court did not, however, overturn the related ACA pillar; the practical, immediate impacts of its ruling apply narrowly to the plaintiffs in this case.
Legal experts expect that the case, Braidwood v. Becerra, will ultimately advance to the Supreme Court, given that it poses crucial questions about the constitutionality of the health task force’s effective authority and that of other federal health bodies. Additionally, the current court has demonstrated interest in cases concerning the delegation of congressional authority to agencies and experts.
Do you have any idea how long it took to make any kind of healthcare reform happen when we finally got the ACA? If we just remove it, that’s not going to make everyone “work that much harder to get Medicare for All”, it will set us back arguing over even the things that the ACA got us. Suddenly, denying coverage for pre-existing conditions is back on the table.
And what the hell would Democrats say to the tens of millions of people who lose their health coverage when they vote to repeal the ACA? “Don’t worry, this is going to make things so desperate that we’ll all feel really determined to pass universal healthcare!”
It makes absolutely no sense what you’re saying!
Oh I know, and I know the ACA was essentially the Republican plan from the beginning.
I also know there is absolutely jack shit any of us can do to make the Supreme Court not throw shit out just because they want to and find a flimsy justification for it. Congress would have to do their job and hold them accountable, and that’s not going to happen.
The only way people will actually demand something real is if this happens and millions lose access to their healthcare, with their new options increasing in price dramatically just like it used to be. If they can even get insured.
The ACA was originally implemented slowly and as such the average person never saw a big difference before and after. The “big” issues were from shit plans that didn’t do anything for people anyway but they paid for it thinking they had coverage. We’re now post-COVID and there are millions of Americans with long term health issues stemming from that period. I’m sure insurance companies would put that right at the top of their list to disqualify coverage. Denying coverage would not be gradual and will be noticed.
Considering the Dems have had control of the house and senate only 4 of the last 44 years, I’d say it’s been 40 of the last 44 years we’ve gotten nowhere.