Thread: As SCOTUS Decision Looms, Obamacare Satisfaction Reaches 86 Percent

JUN 13, 2015 @ 5:50 AM 17,058 VIEWS

As SCOTUS Decision Looms, Obamacare Satisfaction Reaches 86 Percent

Bruce Japsen


With a Supreme Court ruling that could pull subsidies from millions of newly insured Americans expected within two weeks, new data indicates those with coverage are happy and getting the health care they need.

86% of Americans receiving coverage under the Affordable Care Act from either government-run exchanges or the expanded Medicaid program for the poor are “very” or “somewhat” satisfied with their health insurance,according to the latest tracking survey out Friday from the Commonwealth Fund.

The survey comes just before the much-anticipated Supreme Court decision in the King v. Burwell case. The high court will decide whether more than 9 million Americans who the law helped purchase private plans will lose subsidies for coverage because they bought insurance on a federal marketplace rather than state-run exchanges.

“The Affordable Care Act’s coverage expansions have been in place for nearly 18 months, and indications are that newly insured Americans are pleased with their coverage and are using it to get needed health care,” Commonwealth Fund president Dr. David Blumenthal said in a statement accompanying the report.

The survey indicates the law is filling a medical care void with nearly 70% using it to get care while 62% said they wouldn’t have been able to either “obtain” or “afford” that care if it weren’t for the law.

It’s the latest analysis indicating the law’s primary goal – to expand health care coverage to more Americans – is working. The Commonwealth Fund said the uninsured rate in the U.S. has dropped to 13%.

Meanwhile, other surveys have shown the addition of coverage under the law hasn’t upset existing coverage and triggered a major increase in people losing coverage they have or people being forced into plans they didn’t want.

An Urban Institute brief released last week indicated the percentage of American workers with health insurance from their employers has remained unchanged. The analysis said “just over 70 percent” of workers were covered by employer-sponsored coverage between June of 2013, before broader coverage under the law began, and that percentage held through March of 2015.

In addition, the percentage of employees offered coverage was also largely unchanged. In March of this year, 83% of employees were offered coverage compared to 82.3% in June 2013.

“Despite rumors to the contrary, so far it would appear that employer-sponsored insurance is holding steady,” said Katherine Hempstead, who directs work on health insurance for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which funded The Urban Institute research.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejap...es-86-percent/

No back-up plan in Florida if SCOTUS guts Obamacare subsidies

via @dchangmiami
There is no official plan. There is no time to execute one, even if there were a plan. And, perhaps most importantly, there appears to be no political leadership in Florida to act if the Supreme Court rules this month that more than 6 million Americans, including about 1.3 million Florida residents, can no longer receive federal subsidies that help pay for their health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, according to health policy experts.

Many scenarios could play out if the Supreme Court rules that billions of dollars in health insurance subsidies, including an estimated $389 million a month for Florida residents, can only be distributed through exchanges established by a state, as the plaintiffs argue in King v. Burwell.

But absent a ruling that provides for a temporary extension of subsidies for residents of the 34 states that rely entirely on the federal exchange at HealthCare.gov, health policy analysts say any long-term solution comes down to state action — or Congress.

“There aren’t a lot of fallback options in place at this time," said Cynthia Cox, associate director of health reform and private insurance for the Kaiser Family Foundation, a California-based health policy research nonprofit group.

In Florida, legislators have no official plan — though conversations have been taking place — and they likely will look to the federal government first for a solution if the Supreme Court rules for the challengers, said Diane Hilligoss, a University of Michigan law student and researcher who interviewed Florida lawmakers and others in the spring for a study published by Health Affairs, a health policy journal.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/naked...subsidies.html

Supreme Court Challenge to Federal Health Law Won't Affect California, Experts Say

• Pauline Bartolone

Monday, March 2, 2015 | Sacramento, CA | Permalink


Health policy experts say the upcoming Supreme Court hearing regarding the Affordable Care Act will not affect health insurance subsidies for Californians. But a ruling against the law could confuse people.

The King versus Burwell challenge at the U.S. Supreme Court deals with subsidies for coverage in states where the exchanges are federally-run.

Peter Lee of Covered California says California's marketplace is state-based.

"We are not even a subject to that dispute,” he says.

Shana Alex Charles with the UCLA Center for Health Policy Researchsays a ruling against insurance subsidies could confuse people, and cause them to stop paying premiums.

“I’m sure that probably the enrollees in Covered California would be very worried and it might cause some kind of panic,” she says.

Charles says no matter how the court rules, she doesn't believe this will be the last legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act.

http://www.capradio.org/articles/201...,-experts-say/