- Between 2010 and 2015, an estimated 537,000 people in Washington gained coverage thanks to the ACA, including those who gained coverage through the Washington Health Insurance Marketplace, about 50,000 young adults who gained coverage by staying on their parents’ health insurance, and those gaining coverage from the law’s Medicaid expansion and employer shared responsibility policy.
- In 2017, 63 percent of Marketplace enrollees in Washington received a premium tax credit that averaged $3,040 per person.
- Up to 2,969,739 people in Washington have a pre-existing condition and would be at risk for being charged unaffordable premiums or denied coverage altogether without the ACA.
- Without the ACA, an estimated 55,000 fewer people in Washington would have Medicaid coverage.
- Without the ACA, the 1,238,649 people with Medicare in Washington would lose benefits and pay more.
- Prescription drug discounts through the ACA provided 71,499 people in Washington with $1,065 in average annual savings per beneficiary in 2016.
- In 2016, 805,142 Washingtonians with Medicare had coverage for proven preventive services with no cost sharing.
- Washington received $84,038,862 from the law's Prevention and Public Health Fund between fiscal years 2012 and 2016. This includes $21,648,368 for immunizations and $4,207,707 for tobacco cessation efforts.
- An estimated 3,079,369 people in Washington, including 1,258,201 women ages 15 to 64, would lose federally guaranteed preventive services — like flu shots, cancer screenings and contraception — which are now provided at no extra cost to consumers.
- Without the ACA, between 2019 to 2028, Washington would lose $4.7 billion in federal Marketplace spending and $38.1 billion in federal Medicaid spending — a total of $42.8 billion.
- From 2019 to 2028, Washington hospitals would lose $23.3 billion and physicians could lose $7.7 billion.
- Uncompensated care costs in Washington would increase by $33.9 billion in the same timeframe.
Case timeline:
- February 2018 — Texas and 19 other states file challenge to invalidate the law after Congress “zeroes out” the penalty associated with the ACA’s individual mandate
- April 2018 — Washington and 16 other states seek to intervene in the case
- June 2018 — Trump Administration tells the court it will not defend the ACA
- December 2018 — District Court Judge Reed O’Connor rules that the entire ACA is invalid without the individual mandate penalty
- December 2019 — Three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit issues a 2-1 ruling, agreeing with Judge O’Connor that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, but remanding back to him to consider whether parts of the ACA are severable
- January 2020 — States petition for certiorari and ask for the case to be heard on an expedited basis, arguing that the individual mandate question is central to the entire case, and can be answered by the Supreme Court now
- March 2020 — Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, but not on an expedited basis
- Nov. 10, 2020 — Oral arguments heard before the Supreme Court
- June 17, 2021 — Supreme Court rules against the states challenging the ACA
The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal office for the state of Washington with attorneys and staff in 27 divisions across the state providing legal services to roughly 200 state agencies, boards and commissions. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.
Brionna Aho, Communications Director, (360) 753-2727; Brionna.aho@atg.wa.gov
