Court ruling demonstrates ACA's power to reduce future medical expenses

Industry insiders who handle litigation involving catastrophic injury cases have eagerly awaited the first rulings to address the impact, if any, of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), often referred to as Obamacare, on claims for future damages. Before the ACA, it was uncertain whether injured individuals would have health insurance to cover ever‐growing health care costs in the future. Consequently, in most jurisdictions, the applicable rule of law has prevented the argument that future damages should be reduced because of the availability of health insurance. Because of this, damages have remained essentially unrebutted, and the law has permitted such unrebutted damage projections to be calculated into the future. These projections, primarily in the form of life care plans, are generally the single largest financial component of damage claims. Such plans often project massive expenses that can drive equally massive jury verdicts.