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Life-Altering Access to Health Care
Chief Justice
elevates stature
of the court
by
M arc H. M orial
The Supreme Court
ruling to uphold the Af
fordable Care Act repre
sents life-altering access
to health care for millions
of Americans, particularly
African Americans who have been
twice as likely to lack health insur
ance.
Health Insurance can mean the
difference between life and death,
and even more often it can mean the
difference between financial stabil
ity and ruin. Health care costs are
responsible for a majority of per
sonal bankruptcies in the United
States.
The Supreme Court’s decision
affirmed that the National Urban
League mission, shared by millions
of Americans, to build a fairer health
care system is not only appropriate
and pro-family, but constitutionally
valid.
While the Court made the
right call, it was once again
a narrow 5-4 decision, with
the deciding vote surpris
ingly cast by Chief Justice
John G. Roberts. It is no
secret that in 2005 the Na
tional Urban League sided
with then, Senator Obama in oppos
ing Roberts’ nomination as Chief
Justice.
Roberts came to the nomination
process as a staunch conservative,
who had been an outspoken oppo
nent of Affirmative Action, which
he had often referred to as “quo
tas.” He had also spoken out against
the “effects test’ in voting rights
enforcement, saying that voting
rights violations “should not be
made too easy to prove.”
Up until last month, there was no
indication that Roberts would be
the only conservative Suprem e
Court Justice to side with the four
liberals on the court in supporting
the most important legislative break
through on health care in a genera
tion.
a rigid liberal/conservative divide.
Contrast this statesmanlike lead
ership with the comments of con
servative Justice Antonin Scalia,
who at various times leading up to
the decision had trivialized this im
portant national debate. Scalia had
said it was “unrealistic” to expect
the Justices to read the entire bill,
joking that the Eighth Amendment
protected them from “cruel and un
usual punishment.” And he had
objected to the individual mandate
with a quip that “You can’t make
people buy broccoli.” These com
ments were unworthy of the seri
ousness of the debate and unbe
coming of a Supreme Court Justice.
But thanks to Justice Roberts, com
mon sense and the rule of law pre
vailed.
Roberts’ principled decision el
The court’s ruling means that 31
evated the stature of the Court by million more Americans have ac
refusing to have it defined as a cess to health insurance and senior
strictly partisan institution, with citizens will pay less for life-saving
justices reliably casting votes along medications. It means that invest
Roberts’
principled decision
elevated the stature
o f the Court by
refusing to have it
defined as a strictly
partisan institution.^
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ments in preventive health screen
ings and community prevention ef
forts like those operated by Urban
League affiliates across the country
will continue to move forward. But
the fight is not over.
Justice Roberts concluded his
majority opinion by saying, "The
Framers created a Federal Govern
ment of limited powers and assigned
to this court the duty of enforcing
those limits. The court does so to
day. But the court does not express
any opinion on the wisdom of the
Affordable Care Act. Under the
Constitution, that judgment is re
served to the people."
The Roberts Court has affirmed
the constitutionality of the Afford
able Care Act. It is now up to the
political process and the court of
public opinion to resolve its final
fate.
Marc H. Morial is president and
chief executive officer o f the Na
tional Urban League.
MMMMM
Score Another Victory for Corporations
Health care ruling won’t heal our ailing system
health care reform law. But we're
As a p h y si
still getting p artisan talking
cian, I find it
points instead of an honest re
very odd that the
view of the changes that are in
debate over the
store. This will likely worsen as
Affordable Care
we get closer to Election Day.
A ct h as f o
The new law is based on con
cused on the af
cepts developed by the H eri
fect the law will
tage Foundation, a conserva
h a v e on the
tive think tank. Republican presi
presidential election rather than dential candidate M itt Romney
the impact it will have on patients, passed a very sim ilar law for his
health professionals, and health state when he was the governor of
outcom es.
M assachusetts. So w hile m ost
The Suprem e Court case rein D em ocrats are celebrating the
v igorated the debate over the Suprem e Court decision to up
O bam a a d m in istra tio n 's 2010 hold the A ffordable Care Act, and
by
D r . M argaret F lowers
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pay that tab, according to the
Congressional Budget Office. The
Romney is saying he'd repeal it, insurance m andate and these sub
consider this: had a Republican sidies will create corporate w el
passed this federal law, we would fare on steroids.
have the opposite situation.
W hat will the insurance com
L et’s put politics aside and look panies do with all that m oney?
at the law from a policy stand They'll hold onto as m uch as they
point. The big winners of the Su can by denying and restricting
preme Court decision are the co r paym ent for care. And they'll use
porations who are profiting from those dollars to weaken regula
the current health system — pri tions m eant to protect patients.
vate health insurers, pharm aceu
W hen national health care re
tical com panies, and corporate-
owned hospitals and medical prac
a
tices.
The court has deem ed it consti
tutional for the governm ent to re
quire people to spend up to nine
percent o f their incom e to p u r
chase private insurance despite it
being a defective product. People
with insurance continue to face
financial barriers to care. They
delay and avoid necessary care
because o f the cost o f co-pays
and deductibles.
W hen patients have a serious
medical condition^ they risk finan
cial ruin. Illness and soaring m edi form is fully implemented in 2019,
cal costs are the greatest causes 26 million people will still lack cov
o f b a n k ru p tc y in the U n ited erage. And health costs will con
States, even though four out of tinue to rise because the law lacks
five people experiencing m edical proven cost controls.
bankruptcy have health insurance.
W hile the law does include a
Purchasing private insurance few positive provisions, it won't
is going to be subsidized with stop the deterioration of our health
taxpayer dollars. It will cost Uncle care system. W e'll continue to see
Sam an estim ated half a trillion unnecessary suffering and pre
dollars between 2014 and 2019 to ventable death. T his is unaccept-
able when we are already spend
ing nearly tw ice as m uch per per
son on care each year as other
industrialized nations with uni
versal health system s and much
better health outcom es.
The truth is that we can solve our
health care crisis. The fastest way to
accomplish this is to drop just two
words from the Medicare Act —
"over 65" — and immediately ex
pand Medicare to every person. That
would create a system that's about
When patients have a serious
medical condition, they risk financial
ruin. Illness and soaring medical
costs are the greatest causes o f
bankruptcy in the United States, even
though four out o f five people
experiencing medical bankruptcy
have health insurance.
J
health care, not corporate profits. A
universal Medicare system would
control costs and improve the qual
ity of patient care.
Let's dem and M edicare for all
now. The longer we wait, the more
people, who will suffer and die
needlessly.
Dr. Margaret Flowers is a p e
diatrician from Baltimore and co
director o f Its Our Economy.