Could This Become The Death Knell Of Obamacare?

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Source Newsmax article;" US Appeals Court Throws Out IRS Rule On Obamacare Subsidies".

I think that we can start to see the writing on the wall over ACA/Obamacare. One of the main features in it's distribution are the so called Obamacare subsidies. Without them it will be too expensive for the average citizen to obtain, and should bring down a tornado of protest and dissent by the public on Congress to insure it is not overturned.

Excerpts from the article;

{{President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul suffered a potentially crippling blow as a U.S. appeals court ruled the government cannot give financial assistance to anyone buying coverage on the insurance marketplace run by federal authorities.

The decision, if it withstands appeals, may deprive more than half the people who signed up for Obamacare the tax credits they need to buy a health plan.

"We reach this conclusion, frankly, with reluctance," District of Columbia Appeals Court judge Thomas Griffith writes in the 2-1 ruling, which the Obama administration confirmed Tuesday it will appeal. He was joined A. Raymond Randolph, who was nominated by President George H. W. Bush, also a Republican. }} The time to weigh in on this and create a massive Public Protest against any appeals from having the ruling overturned is RIGHT NOW!

The appeals court judges stated they reached the conclusion reluctantly, and the Obama Administration said they would definitely appeal the decision. The ruling was 2-1 . The logic behind the ruling was based on the way the ACA/Obamacare was written. The ACA makes it clear that the only people that are eligible for the subsidy are people who bought plans on State Run Exchanges. this will negate the credits for people who bought on the Federal Exchanges until the States can set up exchanges, and only 14 States have done that so far. Robert Blendon professor at Harvard School of Public Health said if the ruling is not overturned it will cripple ACA/Obamacare significantly.

Remember the Halbig v. Burwell case dealt a major blow to the key feature of what makes ACA/Obamacare affordable. Also 5.4 Million people signed up in States that had Federal Exchanges in 36 States and 87% of those received subsidies. That information was forthcoming from the Obama Administration itself. According to the Dept. of HHS, the subsidies paid for an average of 75% of the cost of the actual premium.

The lawsuit came about when small businesses filed saying that the tax credits put in by Congress were intended to induce the States to set up exchanges with a penalty if they didn't of removing the tax credits for lower income residents, and the government's position was that the tax credit was incentive to make insurance affordable for all Americans. The wording in question is; "established by the state." in regards to the exchanges in question. those four words could stop ACA/Obamacare in it's tracks.

 

The business challenge is basically a literal reading of the law where those four words supposedly invalidates the IRS subsidy to people in the Federal Exchanges. Think about it, did Congress give the IRS discretionary powers to spend an estimated $150 Billion a year? Can they even partially justify something like that to the tax paying Public? Doesn't Congress need to be the ones to make decisions on spending of this magnitude because they are responsible to the public and the IRS is not?

 

Of course Obama and his supporters contend the challengers are not taking into consideration the entirety of the statute. My feelings are this whole mess could have been avoided if Pelosi hadn't pushed it through in the eleventh hour when most of the opposition had already left, without letting the Representatives read it. Remember Her idiotic comment? " We have to pass this bill to see what's in it." To me that's the epitome of Progressive Hubris.

 

Even the lawmakers who slavishly defend the law said that limiting the subsidies to State Exchanges could destabilize the important aspects of the law including the all important Individual Mandate that requires most people to buy insurance. Should the ruling be upheld, the premiums to the people who have basically had the Government cover their cost, will go up about 76% and the 36 states would forfeit about $36 Billion in Federal Subsidies. Obama's next step will most probably be an appeal to the entire court seeing that seven of the judges were nominated ( four by Obama himself ) by the Progressive Democrats. I can only see this being finally resolved in the Supreme Court and the outcome will depend on how those Justices rule. Both judges in the original ruling were Republican nominated and the dissenting judge was a Democrat nomination.

 

[Virginia Foulk]

On Jan. 1, 2016, every retiree/spouse that have been covered by Kraft/Oscar Mayer healthcare insurance will be losing their health insurance. After 42 years with Oscar Mayer, I was guaranteed this health care insurance for myself and spouse for life.  Now, By the way, Oscar Mayer actually offered my free healthcare if I'd retired after 30 years. Couldn't, I loved my job. Then came Phillip Morris, they gave OM to Kraft,. Now Kraft and Heinz are Kraft-Heinz. So We will now have to go to one -exchange and find our own insurance. Oh they will give us a yearly amount to help cover the premium costs,. So Am now looking. Thanks to Obamacare.