Why Today's Obamacare Ruling (in the Appeals Court) Is Such A Big Deal

[pleinair]

Who wants to bet that if it goes to the Supreme Court, they will gut this law, to the detriment of every citizen who recently became eligible for health care...

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/obamacare-subsidies-case-supreme-court
excerpt: "On Tuesday, two Republican-appointed judges on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the text of the Affordable Care Act permits only state-run exchanges — not the federal exchange — to provide subsidies. The ruling, if it stands, would cripple Obamacare as the federal subsidies are essential to the law."

more from http://www.nationaljournal.com/health-care/obamacare-s-road-back-to-supreme-court-peril-20140722
" If the Supreme Court wants to avoid the Obamacare fray, there's a way out. But, after Tuesday, if the justices are determined to have another shot at President Obama's signature legislative achievement, they can."

[pnwmom]

1. Yes, if you ignore the 3 - 0 ruling FOR Obamacare in another Fed court today.

And ignore the fact that this 2 to 1 ruling against Obamacare is likely to be overturned by the full appeals court.

SCOTUS has shown before that they'll do what they want to do. This ruling won't change much. If they're going to be assholes, they will, whether they have any legal cover for their actions or not.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

2. Over a drafting error? Really?

I know that it's possible, it's just totally insane that something like this- after all else the Republicans have thrown against the law- that would be the one thing that could potentially destroy the law. And it's not like it's not something that can't be fixed in five seconds assuming we had a Congress motivated to do it. It's too bad that it's not something that President Obama could fix administratively. The good news is that if the full Appeals Court overturns the panel's ruling (as is likely to happen), then the chances of it going to SCOTUS are considerably lower- if not non-existent.

[BillZBubb]

3. It's not a big deal until the full appeals court decides.

Right now it's just a step in the process and a minor one at that.