Posted on 02/26/2015 12:16:15 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
There’s no shortage of dire predictions about what would happen if the Supreme Court strikes down the system for awarding subsidies to people seeking insurance under the 2010 health care law.
Millions more could be added to the ranks of the uninsured, the cost of coverage could rise dramatically and insurance markets could be thrown into chaos, or at least temporary instability.
For all those hypotheticals, though, the only thing that’s certain is the country will be more divided than ever over President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement, with many states forced to quickly decide what new steps, if any, to take to reach out to those losing their subsidies.
The political and financial stakes lend high drama to the March 4 oral arguments in the third major legal challenge to the health law, a lawsuit that attacks nothing less than the financial underpinnings of its coverage expansion.
The case — King v. Burwell — focuses on whether the financial help that low- and middle-income Americans receive under the law to help cover the cost of their health coverage is contingent upon what type of insurance marketplace, or exchange, exists in their state. Challengers argue that wording in the overhaul limits the subsidies to residents of states that created their own exchanges, not the 34 that defaulted to the federal government marketplace healthcare.gov. The lawsuit seeks to invalidate an IRS rule the Obama administration issued interpreting the law as providing subsidies in all states.
If the majority of justices agree with the plaintiffs, billions of dollars of subsidies would evaporate unless states, the administration or Congress respond with plans that fit the contours of the changed market.
Precisely what a response would entail depends on how broadly the court rules, making demands to craft contingency plans an iffy proposition.
Leading voices on both sides of the challenge think it’s unlikely the subsidies will disappear on day one, but they’re also skeptical that Congress will act promptly to avoid a major disruption in coverage.
Instead, experts predict the administration will ease the process for states currently using the federal exchange to convert to their own marketplaces so the financial aid can continue to reach their residents.
Even that would leave the country divided. Democratic-controlled states and some GOP-controlled ones would likely cast the widest safety net by taking steps to keep subsidies flowing while participating in the law’s simultaneous expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor. Other states will pick one option and provide a partial extension of coverage. And holdouts would do nothing, leaving their residents without the options available in other areas.
Hire Max Smart and Agent99.
The scare-monger arguments are akin to saying that we should not have stopped slavery because of the economic impact it would have.
Oh, wait: Democrats made that argument.
There’s being “uninsured” and there’s getting “health care”.....such a joke oCare is....sick joke
“But if the SC re-writes this law as our Chief Justice did the last one, it is indeed over.”
I don’t trust Roberts, nor Kennedy. But part of Roberts’ ruling on the tax question was that it is not up to the Supremes to fix a bad law - or poorly written . That is up to Congress.
We will see if he means it.
“Well I am not effing leaving. Others are gonna leave.”
I’m ready for it. That’s why I left mexifornia and moved to where I think people will rebel against this fascist state. See my tagline.
Liberalism has no logic.
That’s our first problem when trying to reason with them. May as well argue with a 2 year old.
Yes - that part Roberts got right.
Still believe he was threatened......
Something happened. The behind the scenes talk was that he was with the other conservatives - and Kennedy - all along. Then switched abruptly. That is what made Kennedy so angry. If you read the dissenting opinion that Kennedy wrote, it has seething undercurrents.
My understanding is that if SCOTUS strikes down the subsidies they’ll need, legally, to end. Immediately. There’s no legal means to effect the kind of “soft landing” the article suggests as a possibility.
That doesn’t mean that this Administration won’t use another EO to effect such a soft landing. And spend money on it that hasn’t been appropriated for just such purposes.
On top of that, I also think that the subsidies that have been provided must, legally, be repaid. Since the subsidies went to people of low income who needed them to obtain health insurance, the chances of most of them being able to repay are somewhere between slim and none.
So yes, this is going to create chaos. And in doing so will show Obamacare to be the typical Progressive house of cards ...
Yup. No question.
I believe him to be a man of conscience and clarity - but when your family’s lives are threatened, you will do most anything to protect them.........
It’s one thing to die for the truth. It’s quite another to have your loved ones killed for your stand for the truth.
we are under attack,half he country + is wanting all things on the back of working people..the plan of obammacare is to destroy the system..guess who plans to fill the void..got a black flag for the white house? the iman is already there complete with killing rich and christians and Jews..
OUr country is gone, our voting is comprimised, our way of life being destroyed..
dot dot dash dash dot dot dot...message to SCOTUS....do not strike this down or you will induce CHAOS!....dot dot dash dot dot dash....
Oh, you’re such a fearmonger...../S
Congress has long abandoned their responsibilities . They need to be keel-hauled
Many signers of the DoI fared poorly. Live Free or Die. Traitor Roberts was given a position of leadership that he has forsaken. History will not treat him well.
Agreed.
That’s why we elected Dave Brat - and keel-hauled Eric Cantor.......
Waiting for the rest of the country to do the same.......except for the commie coasts and Great Lakes area of course......
Agree. Brat has so far been consistant. May he become a leader....
Words will still have meaning for the Hoy Polly, but not for the political class.
So the laws will still apply to US, not them. The alphabet agencies will contine to enforce whatever the political class want just not against them.
It seems unrealistic to expect that individual members of the low income class who applied for and got obamacare subsidies would be able to repay the subsidies any time soon.
The IRS would presumably have no choice but to categorize these individuals as (sneer) tax evaders and threaten them with the usual IRS bullying methods.
Obama would then succeed at his presumed Cloward-Piven strategy.
I would anticipate that if the USSC decides in favor of the plaintiffs, that they would kick the problem back to the lower courts to work out the details of the mess.
Ah, but who will pay attention to the rules if words have no meaning.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.