Hoosiers Waiting On Affordable Care Act Decision

INDIANAPOLIS -- Tens of thousands of people across Indiana are waiting on the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the fate of their federal health insurance subsidies.  

The Supreme Court will rule within the next several days on a lawsuit claiming the Affordable Care Act doesn’t allow enrollees in states that chose not to operate state-run health care exchanges to access subsidies that reduce the cost of insurance.  Health care consumer advocacy group Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack says about 160,000 people use the subsidies in Indiana, paying an average premium of about $120 a month.

“If the subsidies are withdrawn, they would rise to an average of $438, nearly four times as great,” Pollack said.

He says a dramatic premium increase would likely cause younger people to drop their coverage.

“And so what we will see is insurance pools that are composed of older and sicker people and premiums are going to skyrocket,” Pollack said.

Some states, including Delaware and Pennsylvania, have begun moving to a state-run exchange that would allow their residents to keep the subsidies regardless of the Court’s ruling.  Indiana has made no move in that direction.