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Wednesday, Sep 23 2020

Full Issue

COVID Survivors May Lose Insurance Or Pay Much More If ACA Is Overturned

The law guarantees the ability to buy health insurance and bans insurers from denying coverage or charging more to people with preexisting conditions such as diabetes, cancer — and potentially COVID-19. Any change would affect the almost 7 million people in the United States who have already had the coronavirus.

If the Supreme Court strikes down Obamacare in November, insurers could resume discriminating against Americans with preexisting medical conditions just as they did before the law was passed. Democrats are loudly insisting that this is an especially dangerous prospect in a pandemic, as coronavirus could be considered a pre-existing condition. (Cunningham and Ellerbeck, 9/22)

The Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act would have fairly immediate ramifications for many Americans who have lost their employer-sponsored insurance amid layoffs triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. A recent report from the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit, non-partisan think tank, estimated that around 6.2 million workers lost access to health insurance they got through their employers as a result of being let go since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. That figure takes into account workers who were originally laid off but have since found new employment. (Keshner and Passy, 9/22)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday that President Trump is rushing to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg so he can repeal ObamaCare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act. “Why the president is in such a rush is because he’s in a hurry to overturn the Affordable Care Act. And he wants to do that,” Pelosi said at The Atlantic Festival on Tuesday night. “The oral arguments start Nov. 10, a week after the election, and he wants to get a justice in there in time for that so they can hear the arguments and vote on it.” (Moreno, 9/22)

Also —

For feminists who believe abortion access is essential to women’s health, advancement, and self-determination, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death was a gut punch. ... For anti-abortion activists, however, the solemnity of Ginsburg’s death was mixed with ecstasy: They believe they are about to taste victory. The next six weeks, which will almost certainly see a vicious Supreme Court confirmation battle amid the final race to Election Day, may determine the future of abortion in America for a generation. (Green, 9/22)

n a tense exchange between Amy Coney Barrett and Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2017, the California Democrat sharply questioned whether the judicial nominee could separate her Catholic views from her legal opinions. "The conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you," Feinstein pointedly said. "And that's of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for years in this country." (Raju, 9/22)

With President Donald Trump poised to nominate a U.S. Supreme Court justice to fill the vacancy created by the death of liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a new 6-3 conservative majority could be emboldened to roll back abortion rights. The ultimate objective for U.S. conservative activists for decades has been to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. But short of that, there are other options the court has in curtailing abortion rights. (Hurley, 9/23)

This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
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