It’s do or die on the Supreme Court Tuesday morning … the Affordable Care Act — AKA Obamacare — is on the line and possibly the chopping block … as the Trump Administration seeks to invalidate the law, and this time around, Trump’s latest pick could be the swing.
It’s the third time SCOTUS had taken up a case about the ACA since 2010, but Amy Coney Barrett is now ensconced as the 9th Justice, so it could be curtains for the law, but there is some hope. The arguments begin at 10 AM ET and we will live stream.
The issue before the Court is whether the individual mandate to get health insurance is unconstitutional. The provision imposes a penalty for those who don’t get insurance … Congress has amended the law to say the financial penalty is zero.
The Court could save the ACA — in particular, the part that guarantees health care regardless of pre-existing conditions — but surgically striking down the mandatory mandate provision, or it could strike down the law altogether.
As for Justice Barrett … she refused to weigh in on how she would rule in this case, trying to come off as impartial and open-minded … although, she has been critical of the ACA in legal writings before. While ACB has noted that opinion was over an entirely different issue — and it was — many believe she’s secretly got it out for Obamacare, and is chomping at the bit to cast a vote to strike it down.
Time will tell, we suppose.