The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) paves the way for further progress toward making sure all Wisconsin children have access to the quality, affordable health care they need to grow and thrive.
Many Wisconsinites are already benefiting from provisions that keep children healthy. For example, kids with asthma, diabetes, and other medical conditions can no longer be denied coverage simply because they already have a health problem. When one in seven Wisconsin kids has special health care needs, this is a critical benefit. Parents will continue to have access to no-cost preventive care for themselves and their kids. And new requirements for insurance company transparency and accountability will help contain the cost of health care services. (See our top ten list of benefits already in place for Wisconsin families).
With the ACA’s constitutionality confirmed, Wisconsin can now move forward with a key feature of health care reform: the development of a health care exchange that will make it easier for consumers to shop for affordable insurance coverage in a competitive marketplace. WCCF looks forward to working with both the state and federal administrations to ensure that implementation of the Wisconsin exchange is done in the best possible way for families in the state.
It appears as if the Court’s upholding of the ACA also preserves the law’s “maintenance of effort” requirements, which have helped ensure that 29,000 Wisconsin children would be able to remain in BadgerCare, the immensely successful health care program for low-income working families that has made Wisconsin a national leader in covering children. We will continue to study this and update the blog later in the day to confirm.
The only part of the Act the Court did not uphold had to do with the law’s provisions to expand Medicaid coverage to all adults up to 133’% of the federal poverty level. That expansion comes through a combination of enhanced federal funding and a severe penalty – potentially the loss of all of a state’s Medicaid funding – for states that do not comply. That penalty was struck down by the Court.
It is our strong opinion that the Court’s decision should not stop Wisconsin from using the enhanced federal funding to close the huge gap in coverage for childless adults. Wisconsinites are relying on us to get the job done right so they can get the health coverage they need. As we head into election season, we need to ask candidates whether they are willing to use this increased federal funding to expand BadgerCare for adults. For more on electing candidates for kids, see our electoral resources page.
