Congress’s Worst Nightmare: Obamacare May Be Unconstitutional
December 20, 2018
News Article
Congress’s Worst Nightmare: Obamacare May Be Unconstitutional
Originally published in Forbes Wed. December 19, 2018.
Odds are against it. Still, it might happen. Stock prices for hospitals and health insurance companies fell on Monday—showing the market is worried.
Here is the fear. The Supreme Court might—just might—agree with a federal district judge in Texas and find that Obamacare—not just part of Obamacare but all of Obamacare—is unconstitutional.
What would that mean? Congress would be under immense pressure to deal with a problem neither party has been willing to seriously confront for the past eight years: how to replace or at least repair Obamacare.
On the one hand, if Obamacare vanished a lot of terrible problems would potentially go away:
- Premiums in the individual market are twice as high as they were only five years ago and in some states they have tripled.
- Out-of-pocket exposure for the most popular plans this year averaged $4,000, more than twice the level of a typical employer plan; and for some families the deductible is as high as $14,700.
