November 10, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional. Mississippi is among the plaintiffs in the case. The high court leans right and President Trump says he’ll nominate a conservative to fill the seat left by the recent death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. That plan could provide the votes needed to end the health insurance program. State Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney says about 110,000 people are enrolled in the ACA in Mississippi and:
“If that were to happen it would be utter chaos in the country because it would affect hospitals, healthcare providers, doctors. You’ve got 20 million Americans whose insurance would hang in the balance depending on how the supreme court would rule,” said Chaney.
In 2017, the Trump Administration reduced the individual mandate to zero. That’s the tax people pay under the ACA who don’t buy health insurance. The decision opened the door for the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to rule the mandate is unconstitutional. By extension opponents are seeking to invalidate the program entirely. Roy Mitchell with the Health Advocacy Program says the ACA has been attacked since its inception 10 years ago.
“The efforts at sabotage continue to this very day. Mississippi has not expanded Medicaid under the ACA. A recent study came out just a week or two ago. We ranked last in the country in health outcomes, 64 percent of our population has chronic health problems,” said Mitchell
Mitchell says provisions like coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and allowing people to keep their children on their health insurance until age 26 are popular. Jameson Taylor with Mississippi Center for Public Policy doesn’t support the ACA. He says when the government is involved in insurance it creates too much red tape.
“If you want really good coverage that in turn is going to help people be healthy, get better access to care, private market is the way to go ,” said Taylor
Mike Chaney says more than 80.000 Mississippians enrolled in the ACA receive tax credits that keep their premiums low. If the program is overturned. He says they would be added to the nearly 300,000 Mississippians who don’t have health insurance.
