The US healthcare industry and analysts praised the Supreme Court decision that preserved the Obamacare health plan, with the insurer CVS reaffirming that it will rejoin the individual insurance exchange and others predicting more federal support.
- Delivering new solutions: CVS Health Corp said in February that it will resume offering individual health insurance plans through the ACA’s online marketplaces, claiming that the market had stabilized. “As we enter the exchanges in 2022, we look forward to delivering new solutions and additional alternatives to the marketplace,” it added.
- Enactment: The nation’s highest court preserved the landmark law, formally called the Affordable Care Act, for the third time since its 2010 enactment, declaring that Texas and other challengers had no legal standing to file their lawsuit seeking to nullify it.
- Removal of ambiguity: Although the Supreme Court ruling was widely predicted, Morningstar analyst Julie Utterback said it removed ambiguity regarding the individual markets and the expansion of the Medicaid health-care program for low-income Americans.
- Individual exchanges: “We think CVS and other insurers are primarily being attracted to the individual exchanges and other ACA-related initiatives because of the prospects of more individuals being drawn to the market through steps that the Democrat-controlled federal government is taking to expand access to health insurance,” Utterback said.
- Repercussions: If Obamacare had been struck down, up to 20 million Americans might have lost their health-care coverage, reducing income for certain physicians and hospitals, and insurers could have refused to cover those with pre-existing medical problems once more.