Tuesday’s arguments at the Supreme Court over the Affordable Care Act (ACA) discredited Democrats’ exhausted argument used during Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation in the Senate. In an attempt to derail her confirmation, Senate Democrats repeatedly claimed that Justice Barrett would “take away” health care, which really means health insurance, for “millions” by ruling against the ACA.
President Trump just admitted his nominee will strike down the Affordable Care Act. https://t.co/kdKIkbEwy8
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 27, 2020
The Supreme Court’s dialogue on Tuesday over the ACA invalidates Democrats’ consistent fear mongering. The high court is set to rule the individual mandate unconstitutional, but in all likelihood will let the rest of the statute stand. The high court previously ruled that the mandate could be upheld under Congress’ taxing power, but under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the GOP-led Congress zeroed out the mandate’s penalty on taxpayers, which compels the purchase of ACA-compliant health insurance. The current challenge to the ACA before the Supreme Court, California v. Texas, presents the question of whether or not the mandate is unconstitutional given that Congress eliminated the provision’s taxing power. The GOP-led Congress zeroed out the mandate, but did not repeal it fully. The Trump administration and the handful of red states that signed onto the lawsuit argue that the mandate is now unconstitutional, and that the law in its entirety cannot stand alone without the mandate.
During Justice Barrett’s confirmation, Democrats argued that the court would inevitably eliminate the entire ACA, but the Supreme Court indicated on Tuesday that it will probably vote to sever the mandate from the rest of the ACA.
If you didn’t listen to oral arguments, tl; dr: There is no chance the Supreme Court is going to invalidate Obamacare. At the very least, Justice Kavanaugh will provide a 5th vote for severing the one provision the plaintiffs & Trump Admin attack, leaving the rest in place. https://t.co/K9FWXphYbF
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) November 10, 2020
3. The new Justice Barrett is indeed the deciding vote, but only on standing, so it’s possible that the Court would dismiss the case on standing grounds without even reaching the merits.
— Ilya Shapiro (@ishapiro) November 10, 2020
5. The Supreme Court should’ve invalidated Obamacare eight years ago, but what we have now is a different case -- @mfcannon calls it trolling John Roberts, which is funny and right, and deserved -- and the healthcare-reform ball is now squarely in Congress’s court.
— Ilya Shapiro (@ishapiro) November 10, 2020
-fin
...Senators and many in the media fostered this false narrative about the imminent death of the ACA and some accused Barrett of being part of a conspiracy on the Court. Like so many false narratives, it is likely to now pass into the ether without further discussion or correction
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) November 10, 2020
The Supreme Court will in all likelihood uphold the ACA. Democrats’ promise that conservative justices, including newly-minted Justice Barrett, will “rip away” health insurance continues to flatline.