Via Flickr Creative Commons from Supermac1961
The US Supreme Court is set to hear a case today from the Trump Administration to strike down the Affordable Care Act. 2 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders could lose access to health care if the Republicans are successful, according to the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum.
The Trump Administration and 18 Republican-lead states argue the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional because of the provision requiring all Americans to have health insurance. In 2017, the Republican-lead Congress eliminated the penalty for anyone without health insurance. ABC News reports the Republicans now argue that without that provision, Obamacare is illegal under two previous rulings by the Supreme Court which upheld Obamacare as a tax.
“Virtually the entire law is at stake,” said Cynthia Cox, vice president at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, said to NBC News.
A voter survey released in September by AAPI Data found 54% of Asian Americans worry about healthcare affordability somewhat often or very often.
90% of Asian Americans said health care was a very or extremely important issue in the recent election.
The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum argues that AAPIs suffered a disproportionately high unemployment rate due to the coronavirus. Without their employer sponsored health plans, the Affordable Care Act may be their only option.
The ACA also strengthened laws requiring bilingual services for limited English proficient patients. Obamacare also provided AAPIs with access to reproductive health care, including screenings for breast and cervical cancer, well-woman visits, and contraception, at no cost to the patient.
NAPAWF will be live tweeting about oral arguments in the case today.
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