Woo-hoo! Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Act

Whew

Is there any sense yet of whether the ACA has actually improved health care access for people? Or is it too soon to have gathered and analyzed data?
(I'm not looking for opinions or unsubstantiated information, just actual stats and numbers).

Now on to elections to get it overturned then.

Am grinning. jonda1974, you are wrong wrong wrong on this one.

I don't think there are a lot of politicians lthat would try to overturn the ACA at this point. This is what they have feared all along – once it starts working, it would be very difficult to take it away. And believe it or not, a LOT of people (voters) benefit from the ACA. I think they were counting on the supreme court to overturn it, so that they would not have to get their hands dirty. Unfortunately for them, that did not happen.

 I really wish it was a single payer system too, but it is here to stay.

I am so happy to see a 6 to 3 decision.

I can't speak for others, but from my personal experience...DH and I will both be 100% self-employed come August. Our health insurance through my current company will expire at the end of August, and we'll purchase through the exchanges starting September 1. I'm just about to hit the go button on our new coverage, which is almost identical to our current coverage (which is excellent). The only difference is that our annual deductible will rise from $600 per year to $1,500 per year. All other factors - copays, coverage, co-insurance, etc. - will remain the same. AND, our new plan through the exchanges is $350 cheaper per month, with slightly better dental (partial orthodontic coverage). It's not cheap, because we can afford a "gold" plan, so I can't comment on those who can only afford the lower premium/higher deductible plans, but I will say that this something I have feared has turned out to be a pretty good experience. I will also add that we considered going the route of both of us self-employed a few years ago, before the ACA, and the sole factor that would not allow for it was health insurance - for one, my DH was uninsurable due to a pre-existing condition, plus the premiums were higher than they are now. I think for a certain segment of the population, like us, who want to be entrepreneurial and grow our business, the ACA has been amazing. 

The ACA has been wonderful for us. We paid much less and got better coverage. I have a very rare disease and will be on perm disability soon but this is holding me over. I'm thankful for it.

It's still early, the government always screws these things up. They have never done anything successfully. It will eventually become an unfunded liability that will force us into the abysmal single payer, and we will forever lose the ability to independently own our own healthcare. 

Because families are subsidized and they don't cover children past age 26. They need to get their own plans. It was even younger before the ACA.

And you also hear a lot of stories about children with catastrophic health issues who now can get insurance when they are adults. Before ACA, most of them would have been uninsurable. 

At this point, I think it's too early for rigorous studies of the results of the ACA. Those will come, but now, it seems still largely anecdotal.

How so? There are no longer able to deny pre-existing conditions. I see that as an amazing thing.

DBO has the goods on more than 1 SCJ

Great news!

I'd like to see some statistics on where the people who the ACA is helping live and where the people who the ACA is hurting live, because I'm betting that we'll find that in most cases (obviously there is always exceptions) the states where the Republican Governor decided to not expand Medicaid, simply as a political ploy and give up all that federal money are where those people who have not benefited from the ACA are residing.