SCOTUS Says Yes to Obamacare

After months of anticipation, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of upholding one of the main tenets of Obamacare 6-3 in the case King v. Burwell. King v. Burwell centered on whether plaintiffs’ arguments that middle- and low-income adults who purchased health insurance through the federally run Healthcare.gov marketplace were entitled to subsidies based on the language of the law that says tax credits are only to be distributed for marketplaces “established by the state.”

The ruling will allow millions of Americans to keep the tax subsidies that help them afford insurance. Had the court ruled the other way, 34 states and 8.7 million Americans would have been affected, and the Affordable Care Act would have been gutted.

To those 8.7 million Americans relying on federal subsidies to afford their health insurance, Thursday’s court ruling was a win, kind of. While this ruling gave the Obama administration the first real tangible win in seven years, it has sent a message to the rest of us — it’s time to find something better. A better president, a better health care system, a better administration, and a better solution.

As premiums continue to skyrocket, the Millennial generation will be forced to pay for the shortcomings of a universal healthcare system we didn’t necessarily want in the first place. The intention of Obamacare is to make healthcare more affordable for some people such as those who are older, sicker, or have lower incomes. In order to do this, coverage has to be made more expensive for others such as, young people who are healthy and have decent paying jobs, i.e. Millennials.

From the onset, Obamacare has been riddled with issues and caused more headaches than the litany of hangovers we survived in college. No one can seem to agree how to handle or what to do with the issues of Obamacare. Do we repeal it? Replace it? Leave it be? Use a band-aid? To me, the lack of a unified solution is even more troublesome than the law itself.

Not long after SCOTUS announced it’s ruling, Obama hailed the health care law “is here to stay.” Republicans, however, rolled their eyes and insisted the battle had just begun. In a statement released by the Republican National Committee, Chairman Reince Preibus said:

“Today’s ruling makes it clear that if we want to fix our broken healthcare system, then we will need to elect a Republican president with proven ideas and real solutions that will help American families. Hillary Clinton supports big government mandates and expanding the government’s reach into our healthcare system, maneuvers that have made our healthcare system worse off. What you will not hear from Democrats today is any information on how to make healthcare more affordable at a time when premiums are getting more expensive.”

Regardless of what side of the aisle you fall on, today’s ruling was a monumental one and impacts all of us. As America heads into an election year, candidates will have a chance to voice their opposition and suggested edits to a law that has been haphazardly implemented. For now, Obamacare is staying put and while the GOP does not necessarily agree with the Supremes ruling on this, it has started the question, “What do Americans want when it comes to their healthcare?” As for Millennials, better start saving your pennies, because this is going to get costly.