By Grace-Marie Turner Oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday in King v Burwell took a surprising turn when Justice Anthony Kennedy said he thinks there may be a constitutional question in play. Justice Kennedy expressed concern that if the federal government really intended only to give subsidies to states that built their own exchanges, it could be an “unconstitutional form … [Read more...] about Congress And The States: The Major Players In King v Burwell
King v Burwell: Finding A Path Forward After An Executive Overreach
By Grace-Marie Turner The Supreme Court justices had a lively discussion yesterday during arguments in King v. Burwell about who Congress intended to get health insurance subsidies and under what conditions. The central question is whether the Internal Revenue Service had the authority to write a rule authorizing subsidies to go to millions of people in the 37 states now operating under federal … [Read more...] about King v Burwell: Finding A Path Forward After An Executive Overreach
Congress Planning Legislation After King v. Burwell Supreme Court Decision
By Grace-Marie Turner Congress is busily making plans for legislative action should the latest challenge to Obamacare prevail in the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the justices will hear arguments in King v. Burwell to decide whether the IRS had the authority to write a rule authorizing subsidies to go to millions of people in the 37 states with federal exchanges. The plaintiffs say the language … [Read more...] about Congress Planning Legislation After King v. Burwell Supreme Court Decision
A New Fix for ObamaCare
By Grace-Marie Turner and Diana Furchtgott-Roth Early next month the Supreme Court will hear arguments in King v. Burwell, the latest significant legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act. The petitioners argue that under the statute, the federal government is not allowed to provide health insurance subsidies in the 37 states that have either declined or failed to establish their own … [Read more...] about A New Fix for ObamaCare
Health Care Focus Groups, Cleveland and Orlando
Health Care Focus Groups, Cleveland and Orlando, Feb. 16 & 17, 2015 Comments from participants in two groups of swing voters in federal exchange states: ObamaCare has made my insurance much more expensive. Health insurance is more expensive at least partly because I have to buy so many expensive benefits I don’t want or need. Because of ObamaCare’s rules, I wasn’t able to keep the … [Read more...] about Health Care Focus Groups, Cleveland and Orlando
Ryan Ellis: How Obamacare Screwed Up 800,000 Tax Returns
Americans for Tax Reform, The Associated Press is reporting today that an "erroneous" glitch in Obamacare tax forms is causing filing season to come to a halt for 800,000 taxpayers. Tens of thousands of these families have actually already filed and will need to file amended returns redundantly. Americans for Tax Reform can shed some light on what the "erroneous" problem is. The affected … [Read more...] about Ryan Ellis: How Obamacare Screwed Up 800,000 Tax Returns
Congressional Intent Is Clear: Congress Intended Subsidies Only For State Exchanges
By Grace-Marie Turner Health policy analyst Tom Miller of AEI has a post reporting on new evidence that shows congressional committees had and discarded language explicitly authorizing tax subsidies in the federal exchanges. The newly-uncovered analysis by an independent attorney shows that senators who were merging two committee bills in 2009 had language in front of them to would have … [Read more...] about Congressional Intent Is Clear: Congress Intended Subsidies Only For State Exchanges
Rachana Pradhan and Brett Norman: Behind the Curtain, Troubles Persist in HealthCare.gov
Politico, February 17, 2015 Behind the scenes, HealthCare.gov is still a mess. The “back end” of the Obamacare website still isn’t properly wired to the health insurance companies. It’s slow going for health plans to make sure the 11.4 million people who have signed up end up in the right plan. Subsidy payments aren’t automated, so the insurers get payments based on estimates. And adding … [Read more...] about Rachana Pradhan and Brett Norman: Behind the Curtain, Troubles Persist in HealthCare.gov