Appeals courts split on health law subsidies
By Tim Darragh, The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.) | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Whichever ruling holds firm will affect millions of people using the subsidies to afford coverage under the law in a majority of states.
The question weighs on
The split decisions, in district court in
"Today's decision does not mean that financial help will end for people," said
About 81 percent of the 318,000 Pennsylvanians who enrolled in coverage under the law received subsidized coverage as of the end of open enrollment in April. However, the final outcome of the issue has the potential to affect even more -- the federal government estimated in May that 333,000 people across
The government has not updated data since the end of the open enrollment period, leaving it unclear how many people added coverage or disenrolled since then.
The first ruling, from the D.C. court, found that the plain language of the law did not permit subsidies to people who live in states that use the federal government's marketplace.
In a 2-1 vote, a panel of judges rejected the Obama administration's argument that
As written, the law states that subsidies should be paid to those who purchase insurance through an "exchange established by the state."
That would seem to leave out the 36 states in which the exchanges are operated fully or partly by the federal government.
If the ruling holds, the cost of the coverage would not be affected, but the amount consumers pay would be.
According to consultants
"We don't know how many people would keep coverage without subsidies, but what we do know is that exchange enrollees are extremely price-sensitive and many would likely find insurance unaffordable without tax credits," Director
The Obama administration immediately asked the full court to review the ruling.
Opponents of the health law called the court's decision the beginning of the end for Obamacare.
"Under the employer mandate, employers can only be fined when their employee gets a subsidy from the exchange," she said. "Similarly, an individual can only be fined if the cost of their insurance would be less than 8 percent of their income after subsidies. Without subsidies, more people qualify for the affordability exemption and employers have no penalty."
A few hours after the D.C. court made its ruling, the court in
That ruling boosted the hopes of the law's supporters.
Eventually, substance should prevail over form and the subsidies should remain for everyone, said
He also noted that other parts of the health-care law, such as the mandates, have been administratively delayed. There seems to be little guidance as to when a federal law must be followed to the letter, he said.
"It is interesting to see where the courts and the
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