WASHINGTON, DC (June 11, 2015) — A ruling by the United States Supreme Court in King v. Burwell is expected imminently. King raises the question of whether the Affordable Care Act gives the Internal Revenue Service the power to extend premium tax subsidies to low-and moderate- income residents of the 34 states that have chosen to rely on the federal Exchange. If the High Court rules against the Obama Administration in this case, millions of Americans who depend on subsidies through HealthCare.gov would lose them, millions more would be unable to qualify for them in the event they need them, the individual health insurance market in these 34 states would collapse, and thousands of people would die needlessly annually, says Sara Rosenbaum, JD, the Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor of Health Law and Policy at Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University.
The loss of health coverage would leave millions of Americans without affordable insurance, the key to access to affordable health care. Not only would the loss of coverage result in preventable deaths, but access to care would be compromised for thousands of people receiving treatment for serious and chronic health conditions, says Rosenbaum, who along with public health deans and scholars and the American Public Health Association, authored an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court in support of the Administration.
“Such an outcome is not what Congress intended when they passed this law,” says Rosenbaum, who adds that, “if the High Court rules in favor of the Administration, the decision will represent a landmark victory for the Affordable Care Act, which has become part of the fabric of Americans’ lives and the means by which access to health care is protected for millions of people.”
Rosenbaum is best known for her work on national health reform and health policy for low-income and medically-underserved populations. She received a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and earned a JD from Boston University Law School.
Watch a video of Sara Rosenbaum addressing some of the most pressing questions related to the King v. Burwell case:
Sara Rosenbaum discusses the King v. Burwell case from The George Washington University on Vimeo.
About Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University:
Established in July 1997 as the School of Public Health and Health Services, Milken Institute School of Public Health is the only school of public health in the nation’s capital. Today, more than 1,700 students from almost every U.S. state and 39 countries pursue undergraduate, graduate and doctoral-level degrees in public health. The school also offers an online Master of Public Health, MPH@GW, and an online Executive Master of Health Administration, MHA@GW, which allow students to pursue their degree from anywhere in the world.