Kansas joins Texas, Louisiana in lawsuit over ‘Obamacare’ tax

TJC Newspaper ^ | 10/24/15 | Bill Blare

[Libloather]

**SNIP**

Joined by Louisiana and Kansas, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Obama administration Thursday seeking to overturn a fee imposed under the Affordable Care Act. The lawsuit seeks a refund of that amount and an order prohibiting future collections of the fee. Paxton says this is “functionally an unconstitutional tax on the states in order to fund the insolvent Obamacare mandate”.

Brownback said, “The federal government is threatening to cut $1.6 billion of federal Medicaid funding affecting more than 400,000 Kansans in need unless Kansas pays millions of dollars in taxes to the federal government to support Obamacare”. Because Texas must pay the fee’s cost to the Medicaid care organizations, state taxpayers are on the hook for a “substantial” payment – $84 million for 2013, which Texas paid in August, rising to about $120 million a year for the next two years, Paxton’s lawsuit said.

[Libloather]

It represents coercion, which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled was not allowed in the first Obamacare decision, NFIB v. Sebelius. The federal government contrived this new scheme, and the states were recently required to pay.

Whew. Hard to keep up with the rules when they change daily.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

I’m sure Roberts will pull something out of his ass.

[smokingfrog]

It’s not a tax!

[funfan]

I hope a polar bear hunter kicks his ass.

[Diamond]

“Established by the State” means not established by the State.

[trebb]

I’m sure Roberts will pull something out of his ass.

Maybe Obama's tongue...

[ChildOfThe60s]

I think you have that reversed.

[trebb]

I think you have that reversed.

Perhaps - my inner concept was that Roberts did it first and Obama repaid him for his help....

[ChildOfThe60s]

If Roberts was a stealth appointee then you would be correct.

I’m more inclined to the coercion point of view. It’s the way the left operates.