More than a decade after its enactment, the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) remains uncertain as the U.S. Supreme Court takes up another challenge to the law’s constitutionality in California v. Texas (known as Texas v. U.S. in the lower courts). Oral argument is scheduled for Tuesday, November 10, 2020.
The ACA remains in effect while the litigation is pending. However, if all or most of the law ultimately is struck down, it will have complex and far-reaching consequences for the nation’s health care system, affecting nearly everyone in some way.
For information about ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment, including fact sheets and 300+ FAQs, visit our collection of resources on Understanding Health Insurance.
Featured Affordable Care Act Resources
Explaining California v. Texas: A Guide to the Case Challenging the ACA
This issue brief answers key questions about California v. Texas (known as Texas v. US in the lower courts), the case challenging the Affordable Care Act to be heard by the Supreme Court.
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Related Affordable Care Act Resources
- 5 Charts About Public Opinion on the Affordable Care Act and the Supreme Court
- Affordability in the ACA Marketplace Under a Proposal Like Joe Biden’s Health Plan
- Eligibility for ACA Health Coverage Following Job Loss
- Protecting People With Pre-Existing Conditions Isn’t As Easy As It Seems
- Is COVID-19 a Pre-Existing Condition? What Could Happen if the ACA is Overturned
- Mental Illnesses May Soon Be the Most Common Pre-Existing Conditions
- Pre-Existing Condition Prevalence for Individuals and Families
- Eliminating the ACA: What Could It Mean for Medicaid Expansion?
- Loss of the Affordable Care Act Would Widen Racial Disparities in Health Coverage
- Loss of the ACA Could Greatly Erode Health Coverage and Benefits for Women
- The Effects of Medicaid Expansion under the ACA: Studies from January 2014 to January 2020
- FAQs: Health Insurance Marketplace and the ACA
- Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions: Interactive Map
- Preventive Services Tracker
- Tracking Section 1332 State Innovation Waivers
Potential Impact of California v. Texas Decision on Key Provisions of the Affordable Care Act
The Supreme Court will review the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) this November in California v. Texas. This fact sheet summarizes the major provisions of the ACA, illustrating the breadth of its changes to the health care system. If all of most of the ACA is struck down, many of these provisions could be eliminated.
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Data Note: Review of CBO Medicaid Estimates of the American Health Care Act
This data note reviews the Medicaid estimates included in the American Health Care Act prepared by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and staff at the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT).
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Data Note: 5 Misconceptions Surrounding the ACA
On the seventh anniversary of the passing of the Affordable Care Act, this Data Note highlights five of the most common misconceptions surrounding the 2010 health care law.
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Brief Examines State Requests to Impose Work Requirements in Medicaid
The proposed American Health Care Act (AHCA) includes a state option to make Medicaid eligibility for nondisabled, nonelderly, non-pregnant adults conditional upon satisfaction of a work requirement. Although the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services denied all state Section 1115 waiver requests to institute such work requirements under the Obama…
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Estimates: Average ACA Marketplace Premiums for Silver Plans Would Need to Increase by 19% to Compensate for Lack of Funding for Cost-Sharing Subsidies
A new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis finds that the average premium for a benchmark silver plan in Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces would need to increase by an estimated 19 percent for insurers to compensate for lost funding if they don’t receive federal payment for ACA cost-sharing subsidies. Established by…
News Release Read More Medicaid Family Planning Programs: Case Studies of Six States After ACA Implementation
In light of the coverage trends and other ACA-related changes, this paper describes the impact on women and their partners, as well as family planning providers, of the impact of family planning expansion programs under Medicaid. It is based largely on interviews with state officials, providers and consumer advocates in Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri and Virginia – a cross-section of states in terms of geography, Medicaid expansion status, and implementation of a Medicaid family planning program. State interviews were supplemented by interviews with national experts, policymakers and family planning provider organizations. This study was conducted in Summer 2016 before the Presidential election.
Report Read More JAMA Forum: Is the Affordable Care Act Imploding?
In this April 2017 post, Larry Levitt discusses the current status of the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces, and explains how the Trump administration’s choices — including whether to continue cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers — could influence stability of the marketplaces going forward. The post is now available at The JAMA Forum.
Perspective Read More Federal Government Could See Net Increase of $2.3 Billion in Costs in 2018 if ACA Cost-Sharing Reduction Payments Eliminated
Ceasing payments for the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) cost-sharing reduction program could save $10 billion, but cost an additional $12.3 billion in premium tax credits – an estimated net increase of $2.3 billion, or 23 percent, in federal spending on marketplace subsidies – in 2018, if insurers continue to participate…
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Changes in Insurance Coverage in Rural Areas under the ACA: A Focus on Medicaid Expansion States
Nationwide, nearly two million people in rural areas in Medicaid expansion states gained insurance coverage between 2013 and 2015.
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Gaps in Coverage Among People With Pre-Existing Conditions
The American Health Care Act (AHCA), which has passed the House of Representatives, contains a controversial provision that would allow states to waive community rating in the individual insurance market. In this brief we estimate the number of people with pre-existing conditions who might be affected by such a policy.
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Snapshot of Where Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Stand on Seven Health Care Issues
Where do the 2016 Presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, stand on key health care issues? This snapshot outlines the candidates’ positions and policy statements on issues such as health insurance, the ACA, Medicaid, Medicare, the opioid epidemic, prescription drug costs, women’s reproductive health, and Zika.
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