Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts has joined four liberal judges in upholding the parts of the health reform. However, since it was signed in 2010, the Affordable Care Act has experienced major legal setbacks for the past five and a half years.
The decision brought the Affordable Care Act back into the political realm, where legal issues and controversies had been retaining. On Wednesday, Judge Paul L. Friedman from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in a case called Halbig v. Sebelius that people who have signed up for health insurance on federal exchanges can get subsidies. The decision directly affected those who initially thought that the court would strike down subsidies.
"We do not consider whether the Act embodies sound policies. That judgment is entrusted to the Nation's elected leaders. We ask only whether Congress has the power under the Constitution to enact the challenged provisions," said Roberts, in a post by the Oxford University Press.
Even with the ruling, it seems that the Affordable Care Act is still experiencing legal trouble. One of the major issues is that the enrollment is low and only a small portion of enrollees are young people who have premiums that are needed by the old and sick to be subsidized. It has also been noticed, based on the Act's website, that premiums and deductibles have become higher.
"Our analysis finds that, on average, Obamacare will increase underlying premiums by 41 percent nationwide. Young men clearly fare the worst under Obamacare, with premiums rising 77 percent for the average 27-year-old. Older and lower income uninsured will find these increases offset by new federal subsidies, but it doesn't change the fact that Obamacare is increasing the underlying cost of coverage, not lowering it," said Paul Howard, a finance expert, in a post by MarketWatch.
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