The Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday in King v. Burwell has temporarily saved the Affordable Care Act, but millions of Americans are still hurting under ObamaCare. The high court’s six-justice majority agreed that the IRS can change the wording of the law to the administration’s liking. No one, however, can change that ObamaCare is an expensive failure—unpopular, unworkable and unaffordable.

ObamaCare enrollees are facing double-digit premium increases, the opposite of what they were promised. The president’s health-care law was supposed to “bend the cost curve”—and it has, in the wrong direction. ObamaCare piled mandates on the insurance industry while drastically increasing uncertainty in the market. Early on, insurers were working with incomplete data when setting rates. They didn’t know how sick or expensive their millions of new enrollees would be. Now they have a better idea and are proposing enormous rate hikes—30% or more in states such as in Maryland, Tennessee and New Mexico. 

The president has two options: He can ignore these staggering numbers and let the ObamaCare juggernaut roll forward. Or he can sit down with Republicans and find ways to offer relief to hardworking Americans. 

President Obama should welcome a full airing of ideas. The health-care law still lacks the support of most Americans. A June 8 poll by the Washington Post and ABC News put support for ObamaCare at 39% and opposition at 54%. Is it any wonder? The bill was written behind closed doors, with no real discussion of opposing views, and passed on a party-line vote. The plan was far too complicated, with too many mandates and penalties. It was never designed to increase choice and lower prices. The subsidies to buy insurance served only to hide the true costs. 

One of the main arguments the law’s defenders made in King. v. Burwell was that if the subsidies at issue were struck down, another six million Americans would find health care too expensive. In other words, they cannot afford insurance without government help. That is a clear sign that the law has failed to rein in costs and should be replaced.

It’s time for the president to focus on addressing the real problems with this law, not on protecting his legacy. He has conceded before that the law isn’t perfect, and that there is more work to be done. Now he can show he means it. 

Republicans have good ideas about how to lower costs, improve access and help Americans lead healthier lives. 

First, some of the health-care law’s most unpopular and expensive mandates should be scrapped. These include the long list of coverage requirements that drive up costs and force many people to buy insurance that is more than they want or can afford. For example, one of my constituents in Wyoming asked me why the law forced her to pay for maternity coverage after she had a hysterectomy. 

Americans deserve the freedom to buy coverage that is right for their needs and budgets, not the dictates of Washington. No two patients are exactly alike. Health-care reform should not attempt to be one-size-fits-all either. Because state governments are closer to the people, they can do a better job of writing and implementing any coverage rules. The best answer in Wyoming might be very different from in New York or California. 

Employers and workers should be freed from the parts of the law that reduce jobs, wages and economic growth. For instance, the mandate that businesses with more than 50 employees provide health insurance only covers workers who spend 30 hours or more a week on the job. That led many employers to cut or cap workers’ hours to below that threshold. In January, the House passed a bipartisan bill to repeal the 30-hour workweek by restoring “full-time” employment to the traditional definition of 40 hours a week. It has been introduced in the Senate with 40 co-sponsors, including two Democrats. 

The debate in the Supreme Court put a spotlight on the many ways health care in this country is still broken. Millions of people have endured higher costs, fewer choices and the loss of their doctors. With King v. Burwell resolved, we now have an opportunity to do something. 

The two parties must work together. The president should listen to the ideas of Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, and to the American people, who are crying out for the reform they were promised. If he refuses to work with us, Americans will have to wait even longer to get access to the care they need, from a doctor they choose, at a price they can afford. 

If we get this right, there will be plenty of credit to go around. 

Dr. Barrasso, a Republican, represents Wyoming in the U.S. Senate. He is an orthopedic surgeon and former chief of staff at the Wyoming Medical Center.

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https://www.barrasso.senate.gov

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