If Obama Loses this Lawsuit, It’s All Over
A federal judge is allowing this lawsuit to go forward. Here’s the issue:
Under the act, individuals can qualify for subsidies, in the form of tax credits, if they buy health insurance through an exchange “established by the state.” A majority of states, however, chose not to set up their own marketplaces, leaving the federal government to run some or all of the exchanges in 36 states.
The challengers contend that the health law precludes subsidies for consumers who buy insurance through those federally run exchanges instead of state exchanges. They say the Internal Revenue Service contravened the text of the law when it promulgated a regulation last year making clear that the subsidies were available to individuals who bought insurance on either type of exchange. (WSJ)
All kinds of messy things happen when you pass a law before you realize what’s in it.
Exactly. Surprises around every corner.
Like a horror movie.
There’s no way the lawsuit will win. Even if it made it to the Supreme Court, that’s the same group who called a fine a tax.
They pretty much do what they want and they’ll come up with any reason to support it. I think that they are much more heavily swayed by personal conviction than we like to think.
They’re not judges anymore, they’re just another legislative branch.
Agreed, they will probably not win, but it does blow another hole into this disaster of a law.
It at least would add to the concerns of legitimacy.
I don’t think many people are honestly concerned about its legitimacy.
Yes…although we should;’ve been prepared for a few glitches, the problems that are surfacing now is just the beginning…
Staking our hopes on another lawsuit, are we? That didn’t work out so well lest time.
Just can’t trust the process anymore…
Haven’t been able to trust the process for a while.
Republicans are once again trying to stop what it right for the American people with a lawsuit. Worse still, they’re targeting part of the law that UNARGUABLY helps people.
What’s next? Shooting people in the street to prove doctors on Obamacare can’t bring people back to life?
What is it about higher costs and lower quality care for the majority of people do you not understand?
So you like people not receiving subsidies? Aren’t you the one who wants higher costs then?
The way things are going do you think people are actually going to get them?
Subsidized costs are not lower costs, they are higher costs paid for by someone else. So obviously you support huge profits to private insurance companies.
So it’s the Republicans fault that the Democrats who wrote this law are incompetent?
It;’s just a bad attempt to fix an on-going problem…there’s no real answer that will satisfy everyone.
If Obama Loses this Lawsuit, It’s All Over
Baloney! If Obama loses this lawsuit state Legislatures will be under immense pressure to run their own state exchanges. Can you imagine state politicians facing voters, who had to pay $10,000 annually — of their own money — on mandatory health coverage when federal subsidies are available?
There’s a word to describe politicians like that. The word is defeated.
The other aspect of this is that business penalties are assessed only if an employee applies for subsidized health insurance through a state exchange.
So states that don’t have an exchange also argue that they are protecting their businesses from very large penalties for not providing coverage. This is a big deal for small businesses looking at expanding beyond the magic 50. Or who want to hire someone for more than 29 hours a week.
Why have subsidies anyway, it’s tremendously confusing. Why not just have the insurance companies charge based on a sliding scale?
The insurance company has no way of verifying income, immigration status, or current employment. I also has no idea whether someone is eligible for Medicaid or not.
As insurers are not about to give away a product without compensation, you have to check whether the compensation is warranted to prevent fraud. To do that, you need the information given above.
Looks like the gov’t can’t do such a great job either.
Yes. Judging from the evidence, the people who wrote this law had no idea that income annual income is hard to determine in real time. In their world, everyone beneath them collects a regular paycheck.
Even if the administration lost this lawsuit, I’m sure they’d just find a way to fix it via executive order.
Linda is right on track in her comments. It would be a blockbuster if a business that had employees in a federal-exchange state did not owe penalties. Many large businesses have employees in several states. This would be chaos.
I am no legal scholar, to put it mildly, but what would be the grounds of this interesting lawsuit?
I thought someone had to be injured to bring a suit.
Who is specifically injured by subsidies going out in all states?