Letter to the editor: What Eric Schmitt gets wrong in his Obamacare lawsuit

Don’t just punt

In his Jan. 16 guest commentary, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt shares his opinion that the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is unconstitutional. (11A, “Take off the red and blue jerseys. Time to work on health care”) Schmitt has also committed the state to a lawsuit challenging that provision.

As a health insurance actuary for more than four decades, I know the individual mandate was included to protect the insurance companies, since it would require them to cover people with pre-existing conditions. Without the mandate requirement, people could enroll only when they needed coverage — a very expensive problem for companies.

Schmitt argues that there must be a concrete fix so those with pre-existing conditions can have access to care. Congress can surely craft a solution, and should be expected to. The Republican Party has talked about replacing Obamacare but offered no replacement in 2017 and 2018, when it controlled the presidency and both houses of Congress.

In my 40-plus years working in health insurance, I learned the only way to assure access to coverage is to require that everyone buy it. Schmitt offers no solutions other than punting the issue to Congress.

If, as a responsible public figure, you want to get rid of a provision in a law, you must offer an alternative.

Attorney General Schmitt, drop your lawsuit and spend time on coming up with another way. You are wasting Missourians’ tax dollars.

- Thomas Handley, Overland Park

This story was originally published January 18, 2020 at 5:00 AM.