On January 15, Justice in Aging joined AARP and the Center for Medicare Advocacy in submitting an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to expedite its review of a case challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The brief argues that the uncertainty caused by the Fifth Circuit’s decision to remand the case to the district court is harming older adults and that declaring the entire ACA unconstitutional will cause millions of older adults to lose health insurance coverage and vital consumer protections.

Several states led by Texas, along with the U.S. Department of Justice, are asking the courts to declare the entire ACA unconstitutional because Congress zeroed out the tax penalty for not complying with the law’s individual mandate to have health insurance. A federal district judge agreed and issued a ruling that the entire ACA is unconstitutional in December 2018. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit decided that the individual mandate without a penalty is unconstitutional, but remanded the decision back to the district court to review the ACA provision-by-provision to determine whether each is viable without the mandate.

Our amicus brief, filed in support of the states and the U.S. House of Representatives who are defending the ACA, demonstrates how the ACA’s critical protections and coverage expansions have improved the health and well-being of older adults, and how invalidating the ACA would disrupt the entire health care system, undermine the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and harm low-income seniors and their families. As explained in our statement on the Fifth Circuit’s decision and in our issue brief on the importance of the ACA to low-income older adults, millions of older adults and people with disabilities are alive and healthier today because the ACA enabled access to health care they couldn’t otherwise obtain.

Because of the ACA:

• The lives of over 19,200 older adults on expanded Medicaid have been saved.
• Seniors and people with disabilities have more opportunities to age in place and live at home, in their communities, where they want to be.
• There is more care coordination for individuals who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and better protections for the lowest-income seniors from illegal billing for Medicare cost-sharing.
• Seniors have stronger protections from discrimination and a new avenue for enforcing their civil rights.
• Medicare beneficiaries have better access to preventive services and prescription drug coverage.

If the Supreme Court is persuaded by our arguments and upholds the constitutionality of the ACA, 100 million Americans with pre-existing conditions and 13 million Americans enrolled in expanded Medicaid will be able to move on with their lives without fear of losing coverage. And we can continue to build on the progress we have made using the ACA’s tools to enhance care coordination and consumer protections for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, end discrimination, and eliminate health disparities, and achieve Justice in Aging for all.