CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Will a more conservative Supreme Court strike down the Affordable Care Act?
That's the big question for the millions of Americans covered by plans and regulations made possible by the ACA, and for the insurance companies that have built their business plans around the health care measure that was signed into law 10 years ago.
The Affordable Care Act has already survived multiple court challenges. The court will hear another lawsuit against the ACA on Nov. 10, which is one week after Election Day. By that time, President Donald Trump’s nominee, federal Judge Amy Coney Barrett, could be on the Court. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the conservative Barrett would replace the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, tipping the ideological balance 6-3 further to the right.
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But don't expect that to mean a quick end to the ACA.
Dan Sem, professor of business at Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin, believes Chief Justice John Roberts will leave the ACA alone, because he doesn't want to put the court in the position of denying health care coverage to millions while throwing health insurance markets into turmoil.
Sem said that any changes to the ACA would have to come from Congress, and he added that would require Republicans and Democrats to work together.
“We need transparency, competition and free market. That’s a Republican concept. And we also need some sort of safety net, that’s a Democratic concept. I think we can put this together in some sort of hybrid model that will work,” Dem said.