The Affordable Care Act on Trial: Why King v. Burwell Could Deal a Major Setback to Women and Families

This policy note argues that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) should not be weakened by court ruling or overturned by legislative action and instead should be expanded and strengthened. In the coming days the Supreme Court will decide yet another case that will determine the fate of that law and the health coverage it has made available to more than 6 million individuals through federal subsidies. As the justices consider King v. Burwell, a case that could undermine the largest expansion of health coverage in 50 years and reverse some of its greatest successes, we must remember the fractured health system from which it was born and acknowledge the health and economic toll that broken system levied on too many individuals, particularly on women.