Officials at federally-funded medical centers in Delaware are speaking up in favor of the Affordable Care Act as a case to overturn the law nears.
Hearings in a Republican-led filing to decide the ACA’s future will be heard in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals next week.
Westside Family Healthcare is one of the state’s Federally Qualified Health Centers.
Its Associate Chair, Christiana Care Emergency Medicine Dr. Thomas Sweeney says uninsured patients who neglect preventative care end up costing more to treat when they turn to emergency departments.
“That is one of the things that Westside has been developed to prevent and that is one of the reasons that health insurance is so critically important. So that we don’t have this sort of a failure and we don’t turn the emergency department into a revolving door,” said Thomas.
More than 22,500 people signed up for coverage in Delaware’s ACA marketplace in 2019, an eight percent decrease from the year before.
Delaware insurance officials say the rate for coverage under Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware’s ACA plans is expected to drop 5.8% next year.
