What lies ahead for the Affordable Care Act and other health policies?

The Supreme Court will rule by mid-June on a case that could affect the health care of nearly every American – with one possibility being that it will overturn the entire Affordable Care Act that has become part of the fabric of American health care over the past decade.  

Meanwhile, Medicaid expansion efforts are facing challenges in states that have not yet expanded the program for low-income people under the ACA. Federal policy changes enacted this year are leading more uninsured people to enroll in health plans while reducing insurance costs for others. And lawmakers and advocates are working on proposals aimed at addressing health equity, changing payment to health care providers and more. 

All while the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impacts have served as a major “stress test” for programs already in place. 

These topics, and more, formed the basis for a recent discussion by University of Michigan health policy experts hosted by the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. IHPI, which includes more than 670 researchers who study many aspects of health care including the impacts of health policies, sponsored the event as part of its 10th anniversary celebration. 

The panel was moderated by John Z. Ayanian, M.D., M.P.P., IHPI director and the Alice Hamilton Distinguished University Professor of Medicine and Healthcare Policy at the U-M Medical School. 

It featured remarks and a question-and-answer session featuring IHPI members Nicholas Bagley, J.D., a professor at the U-M Law School, Helen Levy, Ph.D., a research professor at the Institute for Social Research, and Minal R. Patel, Ph.D., M.P.H., an associate professor at the School of Public Health. 

Among the topics discussed was evidence generated by IHPI’s evaluation of Michigan’s Medicaid expansion program, called the Healthy Michigan Plan.