Affordable Care Act May not be too Affordable for Many Blacks in the Long Run

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The November Presidential election became a little bit moreexciting.  Upon its 5 to 4 affirmation of“the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court has set the stage for what will bea dramatic political circus.  With thedeciding vote, Chief Court Justice Robert’s wrote the opinion for the majorityand outlined the limitations of the court and the constitutionality of what iscalled Obama care in a fifty-nine page opinion.

In simple terms, the government can mandate that people beforced to buy health insurance from the small group of companies thatmonopolize the market.  The Court avoidedthe issue of addressing the Commerce Clause by ruling that it was merely a taxinstead.  The decision was split on partylines.  Conservative Justice AnthonyKennedy asserted that in additional to the other three conservative jurists;their preference would have been to strike down the entire law. This is thefirst time in US history that the courts have supported a requirement forAmerican citizens to enter a contract with private corporations to purchase aproduct or service. Many like Dr. Ron Paul fell that the law is a clearviolation of Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution.  He states that regulating “commerce cannotinclude the power to compel commerce.”
In the long run, it is yet to be known how this decision mayimpact African Americans.  There will beboth good and bad.  However, the law’srequirement that some individuals will have to pay a financial penalty for notobtaining health insurance as being a reasonable tax may be damaging to many,in particular given the massive disparity in income, net worth and unemploymentamong African Americans.  As it currentlystands, ACA requires that all citizens must have health care coverage or face apenalty of 2.5 percent of their income. In addition, the court limited the Medicaidprovision which would have expanded coverage to those under the age of 65 whoearn less than $30,000 a year for a family of four.  This would have expanded coverage to anadditional 16 million Americans.
This is a major victory for the Obama administration and hishistorical legacy.  The question remainshowever, it is yet to be determined if the Affordable Care Act will beaffordable to lower income and minority populations, or the inability for manyto pay fines for services they cannot afford, will result in prison terms asmandated by the law.