Local healthcare providers praise Supreme Court ruling

June 25--Area healthcare providers are calling Thursday's Supreme Court ruling that upheld the nationwide tax subsidies in the Affordable Care Act a victory for local residents enrolled in the federal health insurance exchange.

The ruling preserves health insurance for more than 1,660 Howard County residents who receive subsidized insurance through the exchange, according to report issued this week by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Families USA, a nonpartisan advocacy group for affordable health care.

In Miami County, 736 people will continue to receive subsidized insurance. In Tipton County, nearly 400 residents won't lose their insurance, the report says.

In total, around 160,000 moderate and middle-income Hoosiers would have lost financial assistance for their health insurance if the Supreme Court had ruled against President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

Sherry Rahl, executive director of Project Access, which offers free health services to uninsured residents in Howard County, said the ruling "affects the average, ordinary individuals in our community."

"I think this is a good ruling," she said. "This gives people the freedom to have a choice."

Rahl said Project Access was preparing for an onslaught of new, uninsured clients at the facility in case the Supreme Court voted down the tax subsidies in the Affordable Care Act.

"We were expecting our doors to be busting loose if this would have gone the other way," she said.

C.J. Davis, executive director of Four County Counseling, which recently opened a mental-health clinic in Kokomo, estimated around 500 clients will continue to receive insured psychiatric treatment because of Thursday's ruling.

He said more people have received mental-health treatment through the counseling center than ever before because of the ACA, which classifies mental health as an essential benefit.

A ruling which would cripple the federal exchange would have jeopardized critical treatment for patients with subsidized insurance, he said.

"This would have taken us back years to when mental health was not treated as essential health benefit," Davis said. "This would have had a large discriminatory impact on mental health patients in Indiana."

Community Health Network said it supported the ruling, which it said will prevent a disruption in plans for residents enrolled through the Indiana Health Insurance Marketplace

"It's estimated that 225,000 Hoosiers would have lost eligibility for tax credits immediately, potentially leading to thousands of residents going without the healthcare they need and instead seeking services in the emergency room as a last resort," the hospital said in a statement. "The Supreme Court ruling assures that Hoosiers will be able to continue to receive affordable quality healthcare."

But Indiana Republicans slammed the ruling Thursday, saying it upholds a law that is unpopular and ineffective.

"Obamacare is an overreaching, big government mandate that's incredibly flawed and isn't working for the majority of Hoosiers," said Indiana Republican Party Chairman Jeff Cardwell in a statement. " ... While we must improve the cost and quality of our health care system, the focus should be centered on creating consumer-driven solutions that give patients more control over their own health care decisions."

U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski, who represents parts of Miami County, called Thursday's decision "disappointing."

"But that doesn't change the fact that Obamacare is a fundamentally flawed and broken law," she said in a statement. "Hoosiers will continue to face higher premiums and fewer choices."

Indiana Democrats supported the ruling, however, saying it will improve the lives of Hoosiers.

"Today, many Hoosiers can breathe easier knowing they will not lose the health care coverage they depend on each day," said John Zody, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party in a statement. " ... Fortunately, access to affordable healthcare will continue, and it's my hope that those who refused to give up the fight of denying coverage to those who need it will now come to the table to work on common sense solutions that will unite and improve the lives of our hardworking American families."

Carson Gerber can be reached at 765-854-6739, carson.gerber@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter @carsongerber1.

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