MADISON (WKOW) -- Advocates for children, women, seniors and the physically challenged hailed the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act as a historic to preserve health care access and options.
Health care policy analyst Sara Eskrich of the Wisconsin Council on Children & Families says the court's upholding of the law's maintenance of effort provision means 29,000 children will continue to receive health insurance through the state's BadgerCare program. Walker administration officials had discussed reducing costs by transitioning participants out of the program.
Advocates for women's health said law provisions abolishing lifetime limits on certain coverage, and ruling out co-pays for preventative services such as mammogram's and pap smears were keys to improving health outcomes.
Advocates said the court's upholding of the law helped seniors and others by keeping in place a prohibition against denying health insurance because of pre-existing medical conditions. They also said the law's legal survival means a prescription drug provision will continue to render an average annual savings of more than $600.
Recent UW-Madison graduate Meghin Ford says she had been pricing individual health insurance plans, in the event of the overturning of the law and the coming end of her ability to remain on her parents' health insurance policy. Ford said the court's decision relieved a burden, with the law's provision that children up to 26 can remain on parental policies.
Advocate for persons with disability Lisa Pugh said a peripheral, but key benefit of the court's decision, is greater employment opportunities for disabled people, with covered health care for sometimes life-long conditions assured.
