| Online: | |
| Visits: | |
| Stories: |
| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
As Supreme Court Prepares For Major Obamacare Decision, Republicans Unveil Plans
As the Supreme Court prepares to issue its decision on the future of Obamacare by the end of the month, leaders in the Republican Party have offered plans to replace perhaps the most controversial piece of legislation of the Obama presidency.
The president made several promises in the lead-up to the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, which have proven not to be true, including: if you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan; the average household will see a decrease of $2500 per year in their health insurance; overall healthcare insurance premiums will go down; and the number of unnecessary emergency room visits will decrease, among other promises.
Now, the healthcare law faces an uncertain future because of a provision in it stating that federal subsidies are available for those who purchase insurance “through an exchange established by the state.” At stake are billions of dollars in subsidies Congress has not specifically authorized, currently $1.7 billion a month.
Thirty-four states do not have state exchanges, so residents in those states must use the federal exchange to purchase their insurance. The issue of what would happen to the millions of Americans who buy through the federal exchange came up during oral arguments before the Supreme Court in March.
The Hill reports:
[Justice Antonin] Scalia waded into the politics surrounding the healthcare case when he asked Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr., who was defending the law for the administration, why Congress wouldn’t move to quickly pick up the pieces if the subsidies were struck down.
“Well, this Congress, your honor,” Verrilli replied before trailing off, to laughter in the courtroom.
Scalia said he has faith in lawmakers.
“I think this Congress would act,” he replied.
Some have speculated the reason the White House has indicated it has no “plan B” if the Supreme Court rules against use of the federal exchange is to pressure the justices to rule in its favor. Chief Justice John Roberts reportedly switched his vote at the last minute in ruling on the constitutionality of Obamacare in 2012 after the administration employed similar pressure tactics.
If the Court were to strike down the payment of subsidies for insurance purchased through the federal exchange, Senate Republicans have offered a plan that would give Americans the option to keep their current plan with federal subsidies until August of 2017.
The proposed legislation, S.1016, further bars the IRS from imposing penalties by eliminating the individual mandate to purchase government-approved health insurance. The bill, which was introduced by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., has 31 Republican co-sponsors.
“This bill is a transitional response that rescues Americans from the coercive nature of Obamacare, which is an unnecessarily complicated scheme that should not be resuscitated,” said Sen. Johnson. “This bill lives up to its name by restoring freedom. If you want to keep your health care plan, you can keep it. If you want to escape Obamacare, this sets you free.”
House Republicans also introduced a plan last week that would replace Obamacare. The proposed legislation has the backing of the Republican Study Committee (a caucus of 170 members) and centers on some key reforms including: 1) Encouraging greater competition in the healthcare market, rather than less, which has been the result of Obamacare; 2) Creating high risk pools for those who cannot obtain or afford health insurance, due to pre-existing conditions; 3) Changing medical liability laws, which cause healthcare insurance premiums to increase and deter doctors from entering or staying in the profession.
This post originally appeared on Western Journalism – Equipping You With The Truth
Source: http://www.westernjournalism.com/as-supreme-court-prepares-for-major-obamacare-decision-republicans-unveil-plans/
