The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Obamacare subsidies was a big victory for residents of the Delaware Valley, said Andrew Peterson, PhD, John Wyeth Dean of Mayes College of Healthcare Business and Policy at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.
“The ruling took into consideration not only the context, but the intent, of the Affordable Care Act,” said Dr. Peterson. “The ACA is intended to help all people seeking affordable healthcare, not just those who are receiving health insurance through a state exchange.”
In a 6-3 decision, the high court ruled that subsidies are valid even in states that did not set up their own insurance exchanges. A ruling against the administration would have threatened subsidies worth millions in nearly three-dozen states—including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware—and jeopardized the future of the ACA.
“Today’s ruling means a lot to citizens living in the Greater Philadelphia region,” said Dr. Peterson. “It means that their cost of healthcare is more affordable and, for the second time, the court has upheld the ACA despite significant efforts to overturn it.” (Click here to read his blog post.)
Graduate students in the Department of Health Policy and Public Health at USciences have had a unique opportunity to learn and analyze the healthcare law as it has evolved in real time. A seminar course devoted to the ACA was offered in fall 2013 to take full advantage of the Oct. 1, 2013 implementation date for open enrollment in the health insurance marketplace. The course has focused on different stages of the law each semester thereafter.
“The journey of this class was a wild and unpredictable ride for the students because we watched history unwind and witnessed the many road blocks proponents of the law have faced,” said Stephen Metraux, PhD, interim director of the health policy program and instructor of the course. “From the shutdown of the federal government to the rocky rollout of healthcare.gov and this Supreme Court case—it all was grist for the class.”
Drs. Peterson and Metraux have written and spoken extensively on the Affordable Care Act. For assistance in making arrangements to interview them, contact Lauren Whetzel ([email protected], 330.565.7486) or Brian Kirschner ([email protected], 215.895.1186).
University of the Sciences has prepared students to be leaders and practitioners in the healthcare and science fields for nearly 200 years. Key to our distinctive education is a tradition of hands-on research and experiential learning that is evident in every graduate who has walked its campus. Since its founding in 1821 as Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, the first college of pharmacy in North America, USciences has grown to more than 30 degree-granting programs from bachelor’s through doctoral degrees in the health sciences, bench sciences, and healthcare business and policy fields. Discover how USciences students are proven everywhere they go at usciences.edu.
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