What to Know About the ACA After Third Failed SCOTUS Challenge

As trusted sources of information related to health and health care, nurses should be informed about health care laws that govern access to care.

The issue.

On June 17, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) rejected the latest constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA lawsuit was linked to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of late 2017, which “zeroed out” the penalties imposed by the ACA’s controversial individual mandate requiring people to have health insurance. Following this, in February 2018 a coalition of 18 states and two individuals filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the ACA because the individual mandate was unenforceable.

While most pundits initially dismissed the seriousness of the threat of the lawsuit, this changed in June 2018 when the U.S. Department of Justice under President Trump expressed support for the suit, asking the court to strike down not the entire law but just the ACA’s prohibitions against insurers’ denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions and against charging higher premiums because of health status (the Justice Department later expanded its support of the lawsuit to include repeal of the entire ACA). Historically, it is unusual for the Justice Department to […]

2021-07-07T10:30:18-04:00June 28th, 2021|health care policy, Nursing, Public health|0 Comments
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AJN News: A Role for Nonmedical Workers, Adult Vaccinations Revisited, Teen Pregnancy Drop, More

AJN’s monthly news section covers timely and important research and policy stories that are relevant to the nursing world. Here are some of the stories you’ll find in our current issue (news articles in AJN are free access):

A community health worker meets with a patient in Baltimore, Maryland. Photo by Francis Ying / KHN.

Nonmedical Workers: A Growing Asset to Communities

Outcomes improve, costs drop, and nurses’ workloads benefit when nonmedical community health workers are available to serve as liaisons between health systems and patients. Programs to train more of these workers are gaining attention in states across the country.

Revisiting the Adult Vaccination Schedule for Tetanus and Diphtheria

Results of a new study reveal that most adults remain protected from the two diseases for 30 years without booster vaccination—and call into question the potential benefits of a modified adult booster vaccination schedule.

Teen Pregnancies, Births, and Abortions Slow

Two new reports show that the birth rate among U.S. teens has dropped to its lowest point in three decades; the percentage of teen pregnancies ending in abortion also reached a historic low. Researchers attribute the downward trend to teens using birth control more often and waiting […]

2016-11-21T13:01:06-05:00July 7th, 2016|Nursing, nursing perspective, nursing stories|0 Comments
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The Affordable Care Act on Trial

By Maureen Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, editor-in-chief

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 47 states have enacted some legislation to block or limit various requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). And a week from Monday, on March 26, the Supreme Court will begin hearings on the constitutionality of the law, as 26 states bring suit against the federal government. The primary issue for the Court: can the federal government mandate that individuals must purchase health insurance?

Other closely related issues the court has also set aside time to consider are whether other provisions of the law can still be implemented or must be voided if the individual mandate is struck down, the legality of the proposed Medicaid expansion, and whether the court must in fact wait until the individual mandate is actually implemented in 2015 before even considering its legality.

So how do many Americans feel? The Kaiser Family Foundation has been tracking opinions on the law and offers an excellent interactive chart that shows opinions according to different variables, including age, income, political party affiliation, gender, and current insurance status. Their findings may surprise you.

For more information about the Affordable Care Act and it implications for nursing, here are some links to AJN’s coverage since it was signed into law in 2010:

“Nurses and the Affordable Care Act,” Mary Wakefield
“What Future for the Affordable Care Act,” Diana Mason
“Health Care Reform and a System […]

2016-11-21T13:10:29-05:00March 16th, 2012|health care policy|0 Comments
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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