© 2024 Ideastream Public Media

1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216) 916-6100 | (877) 399-3307

WKSU is a public media service licensed to Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
News
To contact us with news tips, story ideas or other related information, e-mail newsstaff@ideastream.org.

While Some Celebrate Supreme Court's ACA Decision, Others Disappointed

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (ideastream file photo by Brian Bull)

After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld subsidies for people who have bought individual health insurance on the Affordable Care Act's exchanges, independent musician Walt Mahovlich felt huge relief.

"It's very important, you know, I am a male, I'm 63-years-old," Mahovlich said. "I just went through a scare with a biopsy and luckily, very luckily, it turned out OK. But I could have very easily needed expensive treatment, which would have bankrupted me."

About 85 percent of the 180,000 people in Ohio enrolled in the federally-run exchanges receive a subsidy. The average monthly premium for those who get a subsidy is about $150, compared to nearly $400 for those without.

Hospital executives as well as insurance industry leaders also celebrated. Steve Ringel, is the president of the Ohio market for CareSource, which has 60,000 members on the Ohio exchange.

"When folks have been able to afford insurance, they are now seeking care for things they put off for 5, 10, 20 years," Ringel says. "We're changing lives with the Affordable Care Act."
 
But for others it wasn't that simple.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich's office expressed disappointment in the ruling. In a written statement, attributed to Kasich Press Secretary Rob Nichols, the administration said the law should be "repealed and replaced with a program that relies on market-based solutions overseen by states."

At question was language in the health reform law that left open whether the federal government could provide subsidies in 34 states, including Ohio.

The conservative Buckeye Institute's Greg Lawson said the subsidies mean taxpayers are burdened with paying for other people's health insurance.

"Essentially, the federal government is going to be papering over the true costs of the Aff…. The quote, unquote, Affordable Care Act," Lawson said.

Story by Sarah Jane Tribble.