What The Historic Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Nomination Could Mean for Health Care
During the Senate confirmation hearings, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson proved to be a thoughtful, deliberate and brilliant nominee. As much as anything else, she spoke with great deliberation, and also from the heart. Her testimony and responses proved that her background, temperament, and experience will help shape the opinions that protect our Constitution and the crucial rights of everyone in America. This will be especially important when it comes to health care, which Americans still view as one of the top issues affecting our daily lives.
Poll after poll shows that health care continues to be top of mind for people of all political backgrounds, races, income levels and living in every part of the country. That, in part, is because some of our most basic health care rights continue to be questioned, threatened and diminished. Nearly half of all Americans have had to forgo medical care because of cost, and a third of them have said that the cost of medical care interferes with their ability to secure basic needs like food and housing — despite the fact that we spend so much more than other nations, more than $4 trillion.
And every session, the Supreme Court takes up cases that could affect people’s health care, from direct challenges to the Affordable Care Act to extending Medicaid to reproductive rights and beyond. Nothing is more private or personal than trying to protect the health of one’s family. And when corporate health care and Wall Street are on the other side of the fight, the role of an impartial and balanced Supreme Court could not be more important. Judge Jackson has already demonstrated a strong judicial temperament towards applying the constitution and analyzing the law fairly and in the interest of working families — from keeping families safely housed to ensuring that the reproductive decisions of women remain between themselves and their doctors.
Abortion and other reproductive services are in a limbo before the court, which recently heard arguments in a case that will likely overturn Roe v Wade. Regardless of how the Court rules on that case they are certain to hear more challenges to these essential health care services, especially with some of the extreme anti-choice laws being passed in Mississippi and Texas. Judge Jackson has the potential to be one more vote on the right side of history.
As Congress and the states continue to work on health care legislation that will impact families all across the country, future legal challenges are bound to make their way to the Supreme Court, as they have for decades. For example, abusive prescription drug prices also are top of mind for Americans — and a critical health care issue that could eventually make its way to the Supreme Court. High prescription drug prices cause one in three people not to fill their prescriptions. Simply put, families cannot afford the high costs of prescription medications — some opting to skip or ration their doses because they cannot keep up with the rising costs.
Extending Medicaid to the most vulnerable state residents will ensure more working families have health insurance, better access to choose their providers, and financial security as they seek care. Eliminating the Medicaid coverage gap could save more lives, and keep our families healthy. This issue affects 2.2 million people, 60 percent of whom are people of color, many living in rural America. Just as the Affordable Care Act was challenged repeatedly through the court system, we should prepare for any new laws that address the coverage gap to be challenged as well. This is when we will need Judge Jackson’s proven background of being an expert and fair judicial scholar.
Judge Jackson’s lived experiences — as a Black woman, public defender, wife of a surgeon, niece of a metropolitan police chief and everything else that has gotten her to this point in her life — will bring historic “firsts” to the Court’s history, and also help the court better serve the people of our nation.
She understands that laws must be applied fairly and also the vast income and health disparities that people of color face, especially as it relates to chronic disease and health care affordability. And she knows the role that discrimination plays in denying health to people of color — a truth that has become more apparent since the pandemic.
The bottom line is that it’s not a surprise that the health care system in America is in need of repair. Everyone has a story about problems with a still broken health care system, regardless of whether they wear a MAGA hat, carry a Black Lives Matter sign, or profess not to pay attention to current events at all. This is simply an issue affecting all Americans. What we need is health care and insurance to be more accessible, affordable and equitable for all families in America so that we can protect our health.
The hearings demonstrated that Judge Jackson will bring experience and brilliance to the Court, especially when health care is on the line. When the full Senate votes this week, not a single senator has a legitimate reason to oppose Judge Jackson’s confirmation. And, when she is confirmed, all families in our nation will have a stronger Supreme Court that will uphold the constitution, our rights, and our ability to live our healthiest lives.
