Potential Impact of California v. Texas Decision on Key Provisions of the Affordable Care Act
Issue Brief
A number of Democratic state AGs are defending the ACA as interveners in the case, arguing in part that Congress intended to keep the ACA in place when it set the individual mandate penalty to zero while leaving the rest of the law intact.
Some of the coverage gap provisions were subsequently modified by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. The BBA closes the Part D coverage gap in 2019 instead of 2020 by accelerating a reduction in beneficiary coinsurance from 30 percent to 25 percent in 2019; also increases the discount provided by manufacturers of brand-name drugs in the coverage gap from 50 percent to 70 percent, beginning in 2019. In 2019 and later years, Part D plans will cover the remaining 5 percent of costs in the coverage gap, which is a reduction in their share of costs (down from 25 percent).
Some of the Medicare income-related premium provisions have been modified by subsequent laws. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) made changes to Medicare’s income-related premiums by requiring beneficiaries with incomes above $133,500 ($267,000 for married couples) to pay a larger share of Part B and Part D program costs than under the original MMA and ACA provisions. Under MACRA, beginning in 2018, beneficiaries with incomes above $133,500 and up to $160,000 ($267,000-$320,000 for married couples) were required to pay 65 percent of Part B and Part D program costs, up from 50 percent prior to 2018, while beneficiaries with incomes above $160,000 and up to $214,000 ($320,000-$428,000 for married couples) were required to pay 80 percent of Part B and Part D program costs, up from 65 percent. The most recent change to Medicare’s income-related premiums was incorporated in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA). This change will affect beneficiaries with incomes above $500,000 ($750,000 for married couples) by requiring them to pay 85 percent of program costs beginning in 2019, up from 80 percent prior to 2019.