AARP:
The AARP’s brief makes four principle arguments in support of the United States. First, that “Congress had the constitutional authority to enact the ACA where there was a rational basis for concluding that the minimum coverage provisions will have a substantial effect on interstate commerce.”
Second, the AARP argues that “the ACA sought to eliminate the unavailability and unaffordability of health insurance for millions of Americans, especially 50 to 64 year olds who must purchase health insurance on the individual market.” In support of this claim, the AARP writes that “people 50 to 64 are systematically denied coverage or priced out of the individual market because their high incidences of pre-existing chronic conditions,” and that “age rating substantially raises standard insurance rates based solely on age making insurance unaffordable to people 50 to 64.”
Third, the AARP argues that “uninsured and underinsured people suffer worse health outcomes requiring more intensive and costlier care when they enter Medicare at 65 than previously insured people.”
Finally, the AARP argues that “the ACA’s creation of a robust insurance pool spreads insurance risks, which in turn allows for affordable health care insurance options for Americans of all ages and with chronic or pre-existing health conditions.”
