What does repeal of ACA really mean for the future of healthcare?
After the ruling by Judge O’Connor, the proponents of The Affordable Care Act plan to appeal the verdict. They are claiming that repeal will mean the end of coverage for patients who currently have plans, and that the repeal will mean the end of coverage for pre-existing conditions. Both are simply not correct. What does repeal of ACA really mean for the future of healthcare?
People who have the ACA will continue to have coverage
- There is an injunction which leaves the current coverage in place. No changes will likely happen until the appeal moves through the courts. The final stop will likely end in the Supreme Court. In short, if a patient is currently covered they will not lose coverage.
- Even if the verdict is left in place and Obamacare ends. The patient will likely be covered under Medicaid since the ACA was simply Medicaid for all. The federal subsidies may be discontinued, however, it will fall to the individual state to figure out how to pay for the Medicaid expansion. The cost of the premiums for state run Medicaid will likely be much less than what patients were paying under the ACA. In addition, taxpayers will save money because the states will not have to bear the cost of payment for the federal subsidies which were scheduled to have ended under the tenets of the ACA.
Dr Elaina George is a Board Certified Otolaryngologist. Her interest in the politics of healthcare and the reform effort have led her to become both a powerful voice for the practicing physician, an advocate for the patient, and a healthcare policy analyst specializing in healthcare consumer driven solutions. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Biology
