Fast Facts on the Supreme Court and Pre-Existing Conditions

Now that Justice Brett Kavanaugh has taken Justice Anthony Kennedy’s place on the Supreme Court, there is a lot of misleading and false information claiming this new justice could put your health care at risk, especially when it comes to pre-existing conditions.

Here are the facts about health care:

• In the insurance world, a pre-existing condition specifically means one that existed before someone was insured. (Sources: Department of Labor, Healthcare.gov)
   
• New babies can be added to their parents’ insurance at standard rates regardless of their health condition, and this was true even before the Affordable Care Act. (Sources: Department of Labor, Healthcare.gov)
   
• Before the ACA, about 500,000 people faced barriers to coverage because of a pre-existing condition. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)
   
• Even before the ACA, employer-based insurance plans could not deny coverage to anyone or exclude a pre-existing condition, and most people with private insurance had an employer-based plan. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)
   
• If the Supreme Court were to strike down the Affordable Care Act, coverage for people with pre-existing conditions would NOT disappear. If the ACA were struck down, states would set their own safety-net policies on pre-existing conditions. (Sources: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, The Wall Street Journal, Congressional Research Service)
   
• Many experts believe most states would again cover pre-existing conditions through different mechanisms — just as they did before the Affordable Care Act was passed. (Sources: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, Congressional Research Service, ReproductiveRights.org, The Sun Chronicle)
   
• Before the ACA, states varied in their approach to pre-existing conditions. Six states already had regulations similar to the Affordable Care Act, requiring insurers to issue coverage to everyone. Other states addressed pre-existing conditions through safety-net programs. (Sources: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, Congressional Research Service, ReproductiveRights.org, The Sun Chronicle)
   
• Before the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade and before Congress passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA), decisions about abortion policy and health insurance regulation were made at the state level. (Sources: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, Congressional Research Service, ReproductiveRights.org, The Sun Chronicle)
   
• Before Congress passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA), decisions about health insurance regulation were made at the state level. (Sources: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, Congressional Research Service, ReproductiveRights.org, The Sun Chronicle)
   
• People on Medicare and Medicaid similarly did not (and do not) face barriers to coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Some states also had rules forbidding coverage denials or exclusions in the market for individually-purchased plans, and some other states guaranteed coverage through safety-net programs. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)
   
• States that couple low regulation and strong safety nets for people with high-cost conditions have comparatively low premiums and healthy markets. (Sources: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, The Wall Street Journal, Congressional Research Service)
   
• Many with pre-existing conditions report their costs were lower and everything was covered before the ACA; now their costs are much higher and many treatments and medications are denied. (Sources: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, The Wall Street Journal, Congressional Research Service) According to PBS, various states may well act even before any such decision is made, to ensure these policies continue. (Sources: Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, Congressional Research Service, ReproductiveRights.org, The Sun Chronicle)