Bucks Montgomery Physician Winter 2021 - 6

FEATURE

Analysis of Legal Issues Regarding
Supreme Court Challenge to
the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

I

by Sherry L. Blumenthal, MD, FACOG

had the privilege of listening to several virtual
discussions about the Supreme Court (SCOTUS)
testimony presented November 10.

On the evening of Nov. 10 there was a public virtual
discussion among legal scholars and advocates for
women's health care rights, and on Nov. 11, a virtual
Town Hall sponsored by the US Constitution Center.
While the former was biased towards women's health
care rights, including a lawyer from the National
Women's Law Center, it also included a physician
from the Board of Trustees of the American
Medical Association, Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH.
The latter was non-partisan, as is the mission of the
Constitution Center, and resulted in agreement as to the
non-validity of the claims in Texas v. California. The
resulting statements so far by SCOTUS, as reported by
the Washington Post Nov. 11, and by the Women's Law
Project in PA, concur about most issues, including the
validity of the claim, the " severability " of the claim
from the rest of the ACA, and a predicted decision.
As a disclaimer, I have a bias due to my
position as a retired OB/GYN but that is
supported by many legal sources. I have
no personal stake in any of this except that
I am fighting for equal rights for women,
including equal health care rights, through
medical and non-medical organizations.
I try to be educated in all aspects of
this issue, including Constitutional
aspects. This opinion is my own, not
of any medical or legal institution.
The ACA has been vital to millions of
women in several areas, including cancer
screenings, contraceptive affordability
and access, and maternity care. Before
the ACA many of my privately insured
working patients did not have coverage

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winter 2021

for maternity care or contraception. Medicaid had
limitations on enrollment which excluded many of the
working poor, who could not access care due to lack of
coverage and inability to afford insurance of health visits.
The ACA guarantees that private insurance plans
cover these services. And the Medicaid expansion
in most states, including PA, has helped millions
get needed health care. Complete repeal of the
ACA would harm a large number of citizens.

As a physician, I have seen many pros and cons to the
ACA. Some, including the rush to computerize medical
records and the reduced reimbursements, have hurt many
physicians. The harm is both financial and emotional,
and has greatly contributed to physician " burn-out "
in a time of a pandemic, when my colleagues are
already stressed and depressed by the daunting task of
saving lives and being able to practice medicine. Many
have retired early, many practices have been unable
to sustain themselves financially, and medicine has
become increasingly the purview of corporations and
faceless health care systems. This is bad for everyone.
Bucks Montgomery Physician Winter 2021

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