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The 2010 Affordable Care Act, colloquially called Obamacare, was a major revision to the US health insurance system. The ACA was a project of the Democratic Party when they held the White House and majorities in both houses of Congress, and repealing it has since been a project of the Republican Party. When the political situation was reversed, Republicans attempted but narrowly failed to repeal the full ACA in 2017, then successfully removed only its "individual mandate" (a tax penalty for uninsured Americans) in their major tax reform later that year.
Since then, the fight has continued in the Judicial Branch: in California v. Texas, a federal appeals court ruled that the removal of the individual mandate did not render the entire ACA unconstitutional because that portion is "severable" from the rest of the Act. However, the Supreme Court is scheduled to review the case during their 2020-2021 term, with oral arguments scheduled for November 10. This means that Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who has criticized a previous Supreme Court decision upholding the ACA, would be among the Justices ruling on California v. Texas if she is soon confirmed by the Senate - thus her nomination has brought this court case to the foreground four weeks before arguments and three weeks before Election Day.
What are the stakes in this case? If the Supreme Court rules the entire ACA unconstitutional, what current regulations in the US health insurance system will revert to the status quo ante bellum of 2009, and what effect have they had over the past decade?
She really advocated for gender equality and women’s rights. What do you think? She passed away today, at 87 years old
