The latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll finds that following the Supreme Court’s decision in King v. Burwell, a case challenging the legality of health insurance subsidies in states with federally operated exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), public attention to the case inched up, though many Americans remain tuned out amid other breaking news stories.
A new poll finds that most Americans approve of the recent Supreme Court decision preserving the health care law’s subsidized insurance premiums for people in all 50 states.
Overall, 62 percent approved, while 32 percent disapproved, said the survey released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.
Now more than ever, it is imperative for every Republican presidential candidate to present a concrete plan to replace ObamaCare. The Affordable Care Act remains unpopular: Wednesday’s RealClearPolitics average of polls showed 51.4% disapprove while only 43.6% approve. Voters are more likely to be opposed than are adults overall, and opponents are more fervent than supporters.
The long battle over ObamaCare’s subsidies that culminated at the Supreme Court last week has overshadowed a consequential shift in health insurance: toward high-deductible plans that will help put market forces back into medicine.
In his 1996 State of the Union address, President Bill Clinton proclaimed, “The era of big government is over.” That prediction turned out to provide more of a short-term rhetorical evasion than signal a lasting change in the direction of national policy. But after last week’s Supreme Court decision in King v. Burwell, it would be more accurate to say: “The era of big lawsuits against Obamacare is over” Nevertheless, several other types of challenges to the future path and pace of implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) remain ahead. As one door closes, others open.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s disappointing King v. Burwell decision, many are asking what comes next for those of us who have opposed Obamacare as a disastrous federalization of American health care. I predict that the Republican party will quickly divide into three camps on health-care politics.
The White House’s victory at the Supreme Court last week removed a major threat to ObamaCare that could have rolled back coverage for 6.4 million people. President Obama declared after the ruling that the law has “been woven into the fabric of America,” while allies said the new insurance program and its related policy changes are here to stay.
After last week’s terribly disappointing Supreme Court decision in King v. Burwell, Obamacare opponents have fewer options. They should reexamine their well-worn playbooks of the past. More of the same will produce less and less.
When it comes to health care reform, voters continue to think an overall reduction in costs is more important than guaranteeing that everyone has insurance — but they would prefer that the government keep their hands off and leave it up to some healthy competition to solve the problem.
By our count at the Galen Institute, more than 54 significant changes have been made to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act since it was enacted in 2010 – at least 34 that the Obama administration has made unilaterally, 17 that Congress has passed and the president has signed, and three by the Supreme Court.
Our latest count has added two more changes made by the Obama administration contrary to statutory language, and one rewrite of the law’s text from the latest U.S. Supreme Court decision.