WEBVTT 00:00.170 --> 00:04.610 JUDY WOODRUFF: The Affordable Care Act today survived another major legal challenge at 00:04.610 --> 00:09.610 the U.S. Supreme Court. By a vote of 7-2, the justices rejected a lawsuit brought by 00:10.519 --> 00:15.519 18 Republican-led states, ruling that they do not have legal standing to sue. 00:16.369 --> 00:21.369 The majority includes Justice Clarence Thomas, who was on the other side in previous cases 00:21.700 --> 00:26.700 about the law, as well as two justices appointed by former President Donald Trump, Brett Kavanaugh 00:27.859 --> 00:32.859 and Amy Coney Barrett. The plaintiffs questioned the legality of the 11-year old law enacted 00:33.629 --> 00:38.629 to make coverage available to millions of the uninsured, after Congress zeroed out the 00:38.809 --> 00:43.809 penalty for violating the act's mandate that individuals have insurance. 00:44.589 --> 00:49.589 But Justice Stephen Breyer, who authored today's ruling, wrote that -- quote -- "The state 00:49.700 --> 00:54.700 plaintiffs have failed to show that the challenged provision, without any prospect of penalty, 00:55.469 --> 00:57.069 will harm them." 00:57.069 --> 01:02.069 In dissent, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that - - quote -- "The ACA imposes many burdensome 01:02.809 --> 01:07.809 obligations on states in their capacity as employers. Even $1 in harm is enough to support 01:09.590 --> 01:10.590 standing." 01:10.590 --> 01:15.509 A short time ago, I spoke with the secretary of health and human services, Xavier Becerra, 01:15.509 --> 01:18.640 about the Supreme Court's decision. 01:18.640 --> 01:21.630 Secretary Becerra, thank you very much for joining us. 01:21.630 --> 01:26.409 So, first of all, what does this court ruling mean for health care in this country? 01:26.409 --> 01:29.829 XAVIER BECERRA, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary: Judy, it means the fights are over, 01:29.829 --> 01:32.979 and we get to build on the Affordable Care Act. 01:32.979 --> 01:37.969 So, 31 million Americans who have their insurance through the Affordable Care Act can rest with 01:37.969 --> 01:42.969 the peace of mind that they can continue to get covered. Seniors who get better coverage 01:43.560 --> 01:47.969 and help paying for their prescription drugs know that that's not going to end. 01:47.969 --> 01:52.969 That 25-year-old child of yours who has insurance through your policy can stay on your policy. 01:53.479 --> 01:55.310 It means, tomorrow, the sun will shine. 01:55.310 --> 02:00.030 JUDY WOODRUFF: You still, though, Mr. Secretary, have Republicans like the ones who are commenting 02:00.030 --> 02:05.030 today saying Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, has been a -- quote -- "failure," in 02:07.229 --> 02:10.769 their view, that it's raised the cost of health care in this country. 02:10.769 --> 02:11.769 How do you answer them? 02:11.769 --> 02:16.400 XAVIER BECERRA: Usually, I answer that with the facts; 31 million Americans aren't applying 02:16.400 --> 02:19.500 to pay more for their health insurance. 02:19.500 --> 02:24.500 We're not seeing Americans rush to say, please, please, insurance company, discriminate against 02:25.849 --> 02:30.849 me because I have asthma or cancer, and it's a preexisting condition, so I don't want you 02:31.110 --> 02:32.110 to insure me. 02:32.110 --> 02:37.110 I don't see Americans rushing to say, get rid of this law and take us back to the bad 02:37.290 --> 02:42.290 old days. And so the facts answer that very well. And if I were playing baseball, I would 02:42.720 --> 02:45.730 say, listen, three strikes, you're out. It's time to move forward. 02:45.730 --> 02:49.170 JUDY WOODRUFF: Well, let's look at what the administration has done and what it might 02:49.170 --> 02:50.170 still do. 02:50.170 --> 02:55.170 You have added to the subsidies available to people who would sign up for the ACA. There's 02:56.370 --> 03:01.370 been an effort to push more Medicaid, Medicaid expansion. How do you get more Americans enrolled 03:04.110 --> 03:05.470 in the Affordable Care Act? 03:05.470 --> 03:10.470 XAVIER BECERRA: The more they see, Judy, how affordable it can be, the more they will come 03:10.670 --> 03:11.670 on board. 03:11.670 --> 03:16.670 So, a million Americans so far in the last few months have discovered that, if they just 03:16.770 --> 03:21.770 sign up to healthcare.gov, they are actually going to be able to afford their coverage. 03:21.800 --> 03:26.650 Many Americans have found out that they're paying less than $10 a month for the new health 03:26.650 --> 03:29.200 plan that they have for themselves or for their family. 03:29.200 --> 03:33.681 And so what we're just going to go out there and do is build on the success. President 03:33.681 --> 03:38.681 Biden ran for office as president saying, I want to build on the Affordable Care Act. 03:38.970 --> 03:39.970 So that's what we will do. 03:39.970 --> 03:44.970 JUDY WOODRUFF: We know there are a number of states that have not agreed, their state 03:45.120 --> 03:50.120 legislatures, their political leadership have not agreed to expand Medicaid. 03:50.920 --> 03:53.769 What do you do to persuade them to get them to change their mind? 03:53.769 --> 03:58.769 XAVIER BECERRA: Well, a year ago you could have said that, and now we have some 38 states 03:59.060 --> 04:04.060 who are on board, only 12 or so who are not. That wasn't as many a year ago. It wasn't 04:05.230 --> 04:07.730 anywhere near that number five years ago. 04:07.730 --> 04:12.189 And so, more and more, I think states are beginning to realize, if they don't want to 04:12.189 --> 04:17.189 have -- incur the costs of providing emergency room care for people who ultimately can't 04:17.940 --> 04:22.650 afford to pay it all, and so, therefore, taxpayers in that state have to cover a lot of it, they 04:22.650 --> 04:24.940 will sign up for something like expanding Medicaid. 04:24.940 --> 04:28.840 Or perhaps it's something different. We're willing to talk to states about what it takes. 04:28.840 --> 04:33.800 If they want to be innovative, they can reduce the cost care and increase coverage for more 04:33.800 --> 04:36.100 people, we're open to some good ideas. 04:36.100 --> 04:39.630 JUDY WOODRUFF: And are you in conversation with states right now about that? 04:39.630 --> 04:43.441 XAVIER BECERRA: We definitely are. There are some states that have made proposals. We're 04:43.441 --> 04:44.710 talking to them about those. 04:44.710 --> 04:48.260 At the end of the day, we're willing to talk to anyone who wants to increase coverage and 04:48.260 --> 04:52.140 reduce prices. But that's what you have got to do. You have got to increase coverage and 04:52.140 --> 04:53.140 reduce prices. 04:53.140 --> 04:56.700 JUDY WOODRUFF: Secretary Becerra, we know that, on the campaign trail, President Biden 04:56.700 --> 05:01.700 spoke often of his plan to enact a public option in this country, but we haven't heard 05:03.730 --> 05:07.950 about that since he has been inaugurated. Where does that stand? 05:07.950 --> 05:11.830 XAVIER BECERRA: Well, the fiscal scorekeepers, whether it's the Congressional Budget Office 05:11.830 --> 05:16.830 or the Office of Management and Budget on the executive side, have both said that a 05:16.890 --> 05:21.150 public option saves tens of billions of dollars in health care costs. 05:21.150 --> 05:25.970 And so where it is, is the president said he would support that. It's a matter of getting 05:25.970 --> 05:29.810 Congress to work with us to see if we can move forward and implement something like 05:29.810 --> 05:34.740 that. It does give Americans another option in terms of insurance. 05:34.740 --> 05:38.780 So, if you don't like the private insurance coverage that you see offered by some of the 05:38.780 --> 05:43.270 private insurers, you could go toward the public option, which would be very similar 05:43.270 --> 05:45.860 to what seniors today get under Medicare. 05:45.860 --> 05:48.030 JUDY WOODRUFF: Is there movement in that -- on that? 05:48.030 --> 05:52.280 XAVIER BECERRA: There are a lot of conversations about that. And, as I said, the president 05:52.280 --> 05:53.430 is very supportive. 05:53.430 --> 05:57.400 I think the president has taken the right approach. We want to get somewhere, and we 05:57.400 --> 06:01.340 will talk to anyone with good ideas. But, at the end of the day, we're going somewhere 06:01.340 --> 06:03.930 because Americans deserve to have better health care. 06:03.930 --> 06:07.020 JUDY WOODRUFF: There's also talk about Medicare for all. 06:07.020 --> 06:12.020 But, in all of these proposals, you need to win -- the ones that require congressional 06:13.000 --> 06:18.000 approval, you have got a very close margin in the Senate. It's tied, 50/50. How do you 06:18.910 --> 06:23.910 get the votes you need to enact the kind of legislation that would reach a significantly 06:26.730 --> 06:28.120 larger number of Americans? 06:28.120 --> 06:33.120 XAVIER BECERRA: That's where the president has, I believe, demonstrated that he wants 06:33.420 --> 06:37.260 to reach across the aisle. He'd like to see bipartisan movement. 06:37.260 --> 06:42.260 But he wants to see movement. And so I think you're going to see a White House that is 06:43.130 --> 06:48.130 intent on reaching out to make it work. We can't do as much without Congress weighing 06:48.860 --> 06:53.150 in when it comes to expanding health care coverage. But we can do some things. 06:53.150 --> 06:57.220 And I know the president will work as hard as he can to get a legislative improvement. 06:57.220 --> 07:02.220 But, at the end of the day, I think he's going to let some of us at HHS do what we can with 07:03.050 --> 07:08.050 the current tools that we have to improve access to coverage and reduce prices. 07:08.530 --> 07:10.910 JUDY WOODRUFF: But you think you can win Republican votes? 07:10.910 --> 07:11.990 XAVIER BECERRA: Absolutely. 07:11.990 --> 07:15.670 And it's a matter of just working it hard. But, at the end of the day, you do have to 07:15.670 --> 07:19.730 make progress. You can't just sit where you are. And thank God the Supreme Court, in this 07:19.730 --> 07:22.430 decisive victory, said, time to move forward. 07:22.430 --> 07:27.160 JUDY WOODRUFF: Secretary Xavier Becerra, who is the secretary of Health and Human Services, 07:27.160 --> 07:28.381 thank you so much for joining us. 07:28.381 --> 07:28.881 XAVIER BECERRA: Thanks, Judy.