In the midst of a global pandemic, there's a new challenge to millions of Americans’ health insurance. The Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday on the Affordable Care Act.
“If the ACA is repealed, millions of people across the country will lose access to their health care, but not only that, millions of people who have preexisting conditions will lose protections, which were put in place through the ACA that allows them to not be discriminated against from insurance companies,” said Rosemary Enobakhare, Director of HealthCareVoter.org.
Texas is arguing the ACA is unconstitutional since Congress got rid of the tax penalty it carried if you didn't have insurance.
Even though the high court has a new conservative judge and majority, legal experts don't think the justices will strike down the entire law.
Even advocates for the ACA admit it needs to be improved, but don't want to see vulnerable populations lose coverage in the meantime.
“When all the dust settles, and everything clears, and it's time to get to work, we’ve got to make sure to remind people what they ran on and we’ve got make sure that we have people fighting for folks in their lives and making sure they're prioritize health care,” said Enobakhare.
Healthcare Voter would like to see Medicaid expanded in all states. They also want lower costs for prescription drugs.
“In the United States, people pay $200 to $250 a viable. Folks who have diabetes need multiple vials of insulin in order to be able to manage their condition and so people are paying thousands of dollars, monthly, and this is with insurance to be able to stay alive. That is unacceptable,” said Enobakhare.
The Supreme Court will not issue a ruling on the ACA until next year.