Billions in Federal Funding Hinge on Supreme Court Obamacare Ruling

The Supreme Court’s expected ruling next week on Obamacare may put into play tens of billions of dollars of federal money. The healthcare law included provisions that would send money to such things as community health care centers, The New York Times reported.

It is unclear what would become of the money should the court overturn the law. Critics have charged the spending is wasteful and they are particularly concerned over the Prevention and Public Health Fund, the Timea reported.

“Instead of helping Americans prevent health problems, the president’s new law actually uses this so-called prevention fund as a Washington slush fund,” Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., charged.

The Affordable Care Act allocates money for such things as creating insurance programs for people with pre-existing conditions, offsetting employers’ costs for early-retiree health plans, increasing the pay for doctors, and a variety of public health initiatives, the Times reported.

Some $13 billion in federal money has already been spent and the law calls for the spending of $100 billion over the next decade for such things as community health centers, care for the aged, and school-based health centers, the Times reported.