Podcast: Can a few words shut down Obamacare?
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the latest case that contests part of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.
Adler and Bagley
The case of King v. Burwell is a significant challenge to Obamacare. The Justices will try to decide if language in the act blocks people from getting tax breaks on premiums sold by federally run health-care exchanges in 34 states.
The tax credits go to people who most likely can’t afford to buy insurance at full prices on the exchanges. So a ruling that holds the subsidies are unconstitutional could have a big effect on Obamacare’s future.
The question before the Justices seems simple. Section 36B of the Affordable Care Act says that federal tax-credit subsidies for health insurance can only be offered on an “Exchange established by the State under section 1311” of the act.
The Obama administration used an IRS rule to make it clear the tax subsidies should be offered on all exchanges set up by the federal government in states that declined to set up their own Obamacare exchanges.
During the arguments, it became clear that Justice Anthony Kennedy could be a deciding factor in the decision.
Joining us to discuss the case are two leading experts who have discussed the legal controversies over Obamacare on prior We The People podcasts.
Jonathan H. Adler from Case Western Reserve University School of Law is one of the co-authors of the academic paper that led to yesterday’s King v. Burwell arguments in court.
Nicholas Bagley from the University of Michigan Law School has written about the ACA since 2011. Professor Bagley rejects the primary arguments made by Professor Adler, claiming that the plaintiffs in the case have misunderstood the meaning of the text in the law.
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