A DC circuit appeals court has ruled that people who purchased insurance through federal exchanges are not eligible for subsidies.
http://ift.tt/1r35dTN
I think this ruling is correct, but it will ultimately be decided by SCOTUS. I was surprised late last year when a District Court judge rejected the plaintiffs' arguments as almost frivolous, since I think the text of the statute is pretty clear. Basically, it authorizes subsidies for people who buy insurance exchanges set up by a State, and the federal government is quite clearly not a State.
The government had argued that it was just a drafting error and the legislative intent was clear, and, alternatively that a State is effectively setting up an exchange by letting the Federal government do it for the State, but the appeals court didn't accept those arguments.
This, of course, is going to be an operational nightmare, but ultimately it can be fixed - either through legislation, in which case the Republicans will extract their pound of flesh, or through providing each state with its very own exchange. Republican dominated states might not go along, however, in which case we'll see the same sort of inequities between states that we've seen with the Medicaid expansion.
ETA: Here's the decision (pdf).
http://ift.tt/1r35dTN
I think this ruling is correct, but it will ultimately be decided by SCOTUS. I was surprised late last year when a District Court judge rejected the plaintiffs' arguments as almost frivolous, since I think the text of the statute is pretty clear. Basically, it authorizes subsidies for people who buy insurance exchanges set up by a State, and the federal government is quite clearly not a State.
The government had argued that it was just a drafting error and the legislative intent was clear, and, alternatively that a State is effectively setting up an exchange by letting the Federal government do it for the State, but the appeals court didn't accept those arguments.
This, of course, is going to be an operational nightmare, but ultimately it can be fixed - either through legislation, in which case the Republicans will extract their pound of flesh, or through providing each state with its very own exchange. Republican dominated states might not go along, however, in which case we'll see the same sort of inequities between states that we've seen with the Medicaid expansion.
ETA: Here's the decision (pdf).
via JREF Forum http://ift.tt/1rHepOU
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