Federal ruling leaves Access Health customers in limbo

<p>More than 100,000 people in Connecticut who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act are now left wondering what will happen to them after a federal judge overturned the law.</p>

News 12 Staff

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Dec 17, 2018, 10:56 PM

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Updated 2,048 days ago

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More than 100,000 people in Connecticut who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act are now left wondering what will happen to them after a federal judge overturned the law.

For now, those who rely on the ACA are safe. But if the U.S. Supreme Court kills the law, Norwalk state Sen. Bob Duff thinks Connecticut's insurance exchange Access Health could collapse.

Without federal subsidies, many customers could no longer afford their monthly premiums.

"Theoretically it could continue, but I think it would be severely undercut," says Duff. "And it would probably be a shell of what it is right now."

In Connecticut, some parts of the ACA would survive. If a person has a pre-existing condition, state law says they cannot be denied health insurance.

Carriers also have to cover 10 so-called "essential benefits," including mental treatment and birth control.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal says this is Washington's problem, not Hartford's.

"Instead of penalties, whether they're tax increases or otherwise, we should provide incentives for people to join the ACA," says Blumenthal.

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