A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down patient subsidies under Obamacare would be highly disruptive to health care, a panel of industry experts agreed at a WisBusiness.com forum at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Mark Moody, president and CEO of insurer WEA Trust, said such a decision actually could undermine the Supreme Court.
“It’s going to be economically disruptive, it’s going to be disruptive to some 8 million people, but it’s also going to be politically disruptive in ways that nobody can actually predict,” Moody said during the Monday event.
Moody was joined on the panel by: Medical College of Wisconsin President and CEO John Raymond; Froedtert Health President and CEO Cathy Jacobson; and UW-Milwaukee health care economist Owen Thompson.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments two weeks ago in a suit filed by four Virginia residents who argue the Obama administration is illegally providing subsidies through the program to those purchasing health care through the federal exchanges. They argue the law allows the subsidies only for those who purchase health care through a state-based exchange. Tens of thousands of Wisconsinites get the subsidies.
Raymond, a physician who took over the reins at MCW in 2010, said three dozen states could be affected. That includes Wisconsin, which did not set up a state-based exchange.
“The economics — which are uncertain right now obviously — the impact you’d see on them would be just remarkable,” he said.
Jacobson said the five-year-old health care law already has caused anxiety among employers, particularly small businesses, as well as within the medical community.
“That would be catastrophic in terms of this uncertainty issue,” she said.
Thompson predicted the Supreme Court ultimately would rule to retain the subsidies, but said if the justices did not, affected states probably would need to set up their own exchanges and accept federal Medicaid funding.
“It’d be pretty interesting to see how they would react, but I don’t think it will happen, he said.
— By Kay Nolan
For WisBusiness.com
