King v Burwell: True Stories of Individuals Who Could be Hurt if the Supreme Court Rules Against Obamacare
By | June 22, 2015, 10:40 a.m.
Category: Health Care Equity
More than 9 million Americans are at risk of losing their health coverage. What’s putting them at risk is a Supreme Court case called King v. Burwell that is challenging a core component of Obamacare — and the decision could come down any day now. But we’re not going to let this moment pass while sitting quietly. No. People who believe health care is a human right are shouting their personal stories from the rooftops. Break the silence. Share your story!
Do you, or someone you know, have a story about how they have benefited from the tax subsidies provided through the Affordable Care Act (ACA)? If so, share it! There is nothing more powerful than sharing a personal story. Visit ObamacareWorks.org/share-your-story and tell us how Obamacare has made a difference in your life.
Already, millions of Americans are benefiting from the ACA. But it's your stories — the real, powerful examples of Obamacare's impact — that show the amazing effect the health care law is having on the lives of people all across the country, and who stands to lose from the wrong Supreme Court decision.
Take, for example, Delma and Adrienne, who were unable to pay for health care before the ACA:
Or take Sarah, whose medications would be painfully expensive without Obamacare:
Here’s one more story that shows the real impact: Julie found an affordable health care plan through the ACA just before she was diagnosed with cancer:
About King v. Burwell
On March 4 the U.S. Supreme Court heard open arguments in King v. Burwell. Read all about it in our detailed blog, or get the nutshell right here:
The case of King v. Burwell challenges a core part of the ACA — the part that lets the federal government provide subsidies to low- and middle-income families so they can afford premiums for health insurance. In particular, it challenges the subsidies that the federal government provides to people who live in 34 particular states, which didn’t set up their own health care marketplaces. A whopping 9.3 million people in these states are at risk of losing their access to affordable health care coverage if the Court sides with the plaintiffs in King.
All that will have a profound impact on the future of the ACA, and whether women and their families can access the coverage they need. If the ruling takes away subsidies for people in need, and the leadership in these 34 states doesn’t establish a state marketplace to restore the subsidies, the effects could be nothing short of crisis:
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More than 4 million women, including 1.4 million women of color, would lose the affordable health care coverage that they have now.
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Premiums for individual insurance policies would skyrocket, forcing people to drop their coverage.
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Many health care providers in the affected states could go unpaid for their services.
No matter what the Supreme Court ultimately decides, we’re going to fight for affordable health care for all. Right now, it’s up to us to speak out in support of affordable health care access as loud as we can.
Kersha Deibel is Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Manager of Health Center Advocacy Programs.
Tags: Obamacare, Supreme Court, King v. Burwell
