Q&A: Overturning 'Obamacare' during a pandemic

WASHINGTON (AP) — The decade-old health care law that has divided Americans even as it expanded coverage and protected people with preexisting conditions is being put to yet another test. Amid a pandemic, President Donald Trump and some red states want the Supreme Court to declare the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. Blue states and the U.S. House say the case has no merit.

Here are questions and answers as the case unfolds:

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

In the real world, very little will change right away. Politically, it's another story.

It’s unclear if the court will hear oral arguments before the November election. A decision isn't likely until next year, which means the ACA stays in place for the foreseeable future.

Even if a Supreme Court majority comes down of the side of “Obamacare's” opponents, unwinding the 10-year-old law would be time-consuming and fraught with political risk. Many of the ACA's provisions are popular, such as guaranteed coverage for people with preexisting medical conditions, and birth control coverage for women free of charge. Others are wired into the health care system, like changes to Medicare payments and enhanced legal authority against fraud.

In the political realm, Trump's unrelenting opposition to the ACA energizes Democrats going into the November elections.

As if on cue, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has rolled out a bill to expand the health law, and the House is expected to vote on it Monday.

The goal isn't so much to pass legislation, since Pelosi's bill won't get a look in the Republican-controlled Senate. But it may make some Republicans squirm by forcing them to cast a vote their Democratic opponents can use in campaign ads this fall.

“God willing the courts will do the right thing, but we just don’t know,” says...