Health Policy
Health Reform at the Crossroads: Will the Affordable Care Act Help Eliminate Health Inequities
This week marks the second anniversary of the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It’s also the week that oral arguments begin before the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the constitutionality of the law. At a minimum, the court will consider whether the law’s requirement that individuals who can afford health insurance coverage should carry it exceeds federal authority to regulate interstate commerce, and whether the law’s provisions to expand the Medicaid program are “coercive” to states. Years of effort to create legislation that will expand insurance coverage, contain healthcare costs, and improve the quality of healthcare hang in the balance, and all Americans will ultimately be affected by how the high court rules.
