Video

Dr David Blumenthal Weighs in on the Effect of King v. Burwell Decision

On March 4 the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case of King v. Burwell, which determines the fate of subsidies in the 34 federally facilitated marketplaces, and David Blumenthal, MD, chief executive officer of The Commonwealth Fund, outlined the potentially catastrophic effects if the Court were to side with the plaintiffs.

On March 4 the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case of King v. Burwell, which determines the fate of subsidies in the 34 federally facilitated marketplaces, and David Blumenthal, MD, president of The Commonwealth Fund, outlined the potentially catastrophic effects if the Court were to side with the plaintiffs.

A ruling that strikes down subsidies for individuals on the federal marketplace would not only affect those who were relying on the assistance for health insurance, he explained. Some providers, particularly safety net providers, would suffer financial losses that would make it difficult to treat all patients, not just those directly affected by the court ruling.

“We see lots of negative side effects and certainly are concerned that some of the very important gains that have been made under the Affordable Care Act—with respect to access to care, reduction of medical debt, reduction of financial barriers to care—that some of those very important gains would be lost,” Dr Blumenthal said.

Related Videos
Screenshot of an interview with Evangelia Vlachou, MD
Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH, FASCO, medical oncologist, UCLA Health
Screenshot of an interview with Barry Goy, MD
Gladys Antelo Allen
Dr Michael Bernstein
Katie Abouzahr, MD, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine
Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, MPH
Jeff Stark, MD, vice president, head of medical immunology, UCB.
Mikkael Sekeres, MD
Kim Newcomer, director of volunteers, Colorectal Cancer Alliance
Related Content
AJMC Managed Markets Network Logo
CH LogoCenter for Biosimilars Logo