The United States Supreme Court set the date for a major Affordable Care Act (ACA) hearing on November 10, just one week after the 2020 presidential election. During the deliberation, the Supreme Court will vote on the constitutionality of the ACA following the elimination of the individual mandate in 2017.
The Ensuing Suit
Since the 2017 tax reform law zeroed out the penalty for the ACA individual mandate, rendering the mandate pointless. Now, the 18 states opposed to the ACA, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, are bringing into question whether the law can stand without the mandate in place or not. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, alongside a coalition of 20 ACA-supporting states, will defend the law, claiming that it is too beneficial to eliminate for countless Americans, even without the individual mandate. Although Attorney General Paxton brought the lawsuit to the Supreme Court, Attorney General Becerra requested the expedited hearing.
The Expected Outcome
By scheduling the oral arguments for early November, the Supreme court ensured that health care would remain a centralized issue during the 2020 presidential election. The scheduled date also prevents any candidates from using audio from the court case in their election campaign advertisements or broadcasts.
“Most legal observers think the current makeup of the Supreme Court would rule to uphold the law, especially given that Chief Justice John Roberts has already upheld it in two previous Obamacare cases, but nothing is certain at the high court,” says Nathaniel Weixel, a health care reporter with The Hill.
Experts expect that the Supreme Court will render its decision in late spring and announce a final verdict in June of 2021.
The Affordable Care Act
The ACA protects an estimated 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions. If the constitutionality of the ACA is proven false in the November hearing, 20 million Americans would lose access to their health care coverage. Eliminating the ACA could drastically change how the U.S. will continue to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, moving forward.
Congress enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, in March of 2010. The law includes three distinctive points: to provide affordable healthcare options to more people, to expand the Medicaid program, and to support innovative medical care advancements that lower the general cost of healthcare services. All ACA compliant plans must include coverage for ten essential health benefits, including emergency services, hospitalizations, and preventative and wellness services.
Agents
We hope this information on the Supreme Court hearing over the constitutionality of the ACA is helpful to you.
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Originally from the snow-capped Rockies, Macee moved to Texas in 2016 to pursue an undergraduate degree in Strategic Communication. She currently serves as a writer and editor for Empower Brokerage, as well as the marketing manager for Preferred Senior Advisors. Macee is also working on her Master’s degree in management, and hopes to inspire others with her passion for telling stories through varied digital and print marketing efforts.
