Supporters of the Affordable Care Act in front of the US Supreme Court ahead of a hearing on the constitutionality of the popular health insurance program. ©AFP NICHOLAS KAMM

 

Washington (AFP) – The US Supreme Court appeared inclined Tuesday to reject Trump administration arguments and let stand former president Barack Obama’s signature health care program, ending the threat to insurance coverage of 20 million people in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

At least five of the nine justices appeared to reject the argument of President Donald Trump’s administration that the entire Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional based on legal questions over one questionable provision on penalties, which has already been neutered by legislation.

Those five included Chief Justice John Roberts and Trump appointee Brett Kavanaugh, conservatives that the opponents to the ACA, or Obamacare, hoped would support their case.

But both indicated that Congress’ 2017 decision to reduce to zero the ACA’s individual mandate penalty — meant to compel people to buy insurance — left the overall ACA law in place and on firm legal ground.

– ‘The plane has not crashed’ –

Attorneys for the Justice Department and states opposed to the ACA had argued that the individual mandate — you must have insurance or pay a fine — was illegal and rendered the entire law unconstitutional.

“It’s hard for you to argue that Congress intended for the entire act to fall if the mandate were struck down, when the same Congress that lowered the penalty to zero did not even try to repeal the rest of the act,” Roberts said during two hours of arguments on the case.

Kavanaugh echoed that, telling the court that the “proper remedy” would be to simply sever the individual mandate from the law.

And while the four other conservative justices of the court — including Amy Coney Barrett, who was named to the court by Trump just last month — raised doubts about the overall law, none seemed deeply hostile to it.

Even Justice Samuel Alito, one of the court’s most reliable conservatives, told attorneys that, yes, the individual mandate was once seen as crucial for the ACA, like an aircraft part essential for flight.

But that has changed, he said. “The part has been taken out, and the plane has not crashed,” he said.

The court will likely not rule on the case for months.

But most analysts saw indications that it would reject the strongest challenge yet to the ACA, which Trump pledged to end when he succeed Obama four years ago.

“Pretty clear from oral arguments that Roberts and Kavanaugh are going to vote to uphold the remaining provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Individual mandate may be gone, but the ACA likely will survive,” said Elie Honig, a former federal prosecutor, in a tweet.

The politically charged case threatened to demolish Obama’s ground-breaking attempt to extend health insurance to tens of millions of Americans who could not afford it.

– ‘Bidencare’ –

Republicans and Trump’s administration have steadily whittled back on technical and financial support for the ACA.

But, greeted with distrust, it remains popular, with 20 million users and many more beneficiaries, and neither Republicans in Congress nor Trump have offered alternatives.

Under ACA, poor adults have access to the Medicare program normally open only to retired people over 65; young people 26 years old or less can be covered by their parents’ insurance; and people whose preexisting medical conditions led to their being denied commercial health insurance have coverage.

Yet several Republican states like Texas brought suit claiming it imposed excessive costs on themselves  — even when offset by the federal government — and imposed illegal penalties on citizens.

Protestors outside the court early Tuesday demanded the justices keep Obamacare in place.

“Health care is a human right,” they chanted before the hearing.

Upholding the ACA would be embraced by Democrat Joe Biden, who defeated Trump in last week’s presidential election and who was vice president under Obama when the act was passed.

Biden, with Obama’s support, has acknowledged problems with the complex program and pledged to improve on it, dubbing his updates “Bidencare.”

He was planning to speak on his health care plans on Tuesday after the court hearing.

Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.