Obamacare’s Latest Threat Nears Turning Point in Court
By Greg Stohr Aug 29, 2014 12:00 AM ET
Two years after a single vote on the U.S. Supreme Court saved a core part of Obamacare, opponents are trying to topple the measure again, this time using a four-word phrase in the law.
A disputed provision in the Affordable Care Act suggests that millions of Americans can’t get the tax subsidies created by the law to reduce the cost of health insurance.
All sides are now waiting for a federal appeals court in Washington to make a procedural decision that will have outsize implications. The announcement could come any time.
President Barack Obama’s administration wants the court, known as the D.C. Circuit, to set aside a three-judge panel’s ruling against the subsidies and rehear the case. A refusal to do so would leave appeals courts in disagreement on the issue, all but guaranteeing a new Supreme Court showdown and returning the president’s landmark initiative to the legal jeopardy it escaped in 2012.
“The Supreme Court taking the case would make investors and hospitals very nervous,” said Paul Heldman, a health-policy analyst at Potomac Research Group in Washington. “The potential would be created that they would make a decision that would cause a key part of the law to unravel.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-29/obamacare-s-latest-threat-nears-turning-point-in-court.html
