Our Health Policy Matters

Here’s why you don’t need to be holding your breath while awaiting the announcement of the Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act. Its immediate impact on you may be a whole lot less than you think. And here’s why you should be holding your breath. How the Court rules could ultimately determine whether private health insurance or public health insurance is the way we finance health care in the future. The reason is this.  ACA expanded both the role of private insurance and public insurance in providing healthcare coverage in the future.  It added a projected 13 million people to the private insurance rolls and 17 million to Medicaid.  The 13 million were added to private insurance primarily through a mandate that individuals who can afford it buy insurance.  The 17 million were added to Medicaid through a mandate that the states expand the Medicaid-eligible population. The Supreme Court was asked to rule on the constitutionali...

Here’s why you don’t need to be holding your breath while awaiting the announcement of the Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act. Its immediate impact on you may be a whole lot less than you think. And here’s why you should be holding your breath. How the Court rules could ultimately determine whether private health insurance or public health insurance is the way we finance health care in the future. The reason is this.  ACA expanded both the role of private insurance and public insurance in providing healthcare coverage in the future.  It added a projected 13 million people to the private insurance rolls and 17 million to Medicaid.  The 13 million were added to private insurance primarily through a mandate that individuals who can afford it buy insurance.  The 17 million were added to Medicaid through a mandate that the states expand the Medicaid-eligible population. The Supreme Court was asked to rule on the constitutionali...