Dean Galea and Senior SPH Faculty Join Amicus Brief in Landmark ACA Case.

Dean Sandro Galea and two senior SPH faculty have joined an amicus brief filed in a US Supreme Court case that may determine health insurance affordability for millions of low- and moderate-income people.

Wendy K. Mariner, the Edward R. Utley Professor of Health Law in the Department of Health Law, Bioethics and Human Rights; and David Rosenbloom, professor and interim chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management, were also among 19 deans and more than 80 faculty members from schools of public health across the nation to sign the brief.

On March 4, the court will hear oral arguments in King v. Burwell, a case seeking to deny tax subsidies for people enrolled in the federal health insurance exchange. The plaintiffs in King contend that the tax subsidies established by the Affordable Care Act should only be extended to residents of states that have established their own insurance exchanges and not those that have elected to use the federal exchange as permitted under the ACA.

This amicus brief—also backed by the American Public Health Association—supports the position of the Obama administration, which argues that the tax subsidies provided in the ACA were designed to help qualified residents of all states, not just those who live in states that have established their own health insurance exchanges.

The case is one of the latest challenges to the ACA, and directly affects low- and moderate-income residents of 34 states. According to data cited in the brief, if the Court rules against the administration, as many as 9.3 million people would lose subsidies by 2016. Barring additional state subsidies or support, more than 8 million people would likely be unable to afford their health insurance.

That loss of insurance could result in nearly 10,000 additional deaths in states currently using the federal exchange. Most of those states have higher rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, and other chronic conditions.