Five years following implementation of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) coverage expansions, community health centers continue to play a central role in connecting consumers to expanded Medicaid and marketplace coverage and have experienced significant growth in their service capacity. Moreover, growing revenue associated with improved insurance coverage of health center patients combined with increased grant funding under the ACA, bolstered health centers’ overall financial capacity, enabling them to expand much needed services.
In 2017, Congress failed to “repeal and replace” the ACA. However, the health law has been under attack in several ways over the past two years. Most notably, Texas v. United States is a law suit over the constitutionality of the individual mandate and, with it, the entire ACA. The Alameda Health consortium, alongside our statewide association, California Health+ Advocates, and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) will continue to advocate for policies and initiatives that protect the ACA and promote the health and well-being of our communities.
Texas v. United States
Texas v. United States is a lawsuit over the constitutionality of the individual mandate and, with it, the entire ACA. A group of 20 Republican state attorneys general and governors, later joined by two individuals, brought the lawsuit in February 2018 after Congress zeroed out the individual mandate penalty in the tax reform bill in December 2017. They argue that the penalty-less mandate is no longer enforceable as a tax and thus is no longer valid. Because the entire ACA relies on the mandate, they argue, the rest of the ACA should also be struck down. You can read more about it HERE.