Obamacare Heads Back to U.S. Supreme Court

Is this the beginning of big changes for President Barack Obama’s signature piece of legislation? The health care reform law known as Obamacare is unpopular, to put it mildly. Many Americans thought they’d get to keep their doctors, but that hasn’t been the case for too many. Americans across the country have received notices for policy cancellations and skyrocketing premiums.

Obamacare requires, among other things, coverage for maternity care, even if the insured is a man or a woman beyond childbearing years. The president’s message to Americans who were satisfied with their so-called substandard insurance plans: Government knows best. As with any socialized health care program, it requires other people’s money to operate, and doctors are opting out of Obamacare because of low reimbursement rates.

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in a case that challenges Obamacare subsidies. From USA Today:

The justices agreed without comment to reconsider that ruling, which upheld the law’s system of subsidizing the insurance coverage it requires. That’s a setback for the administration and proponents of Obamacare, but it is not the final word.

The controversial program faces four separate lawsuits charging that billions of dollars in subsidies can only be offered in health care exchanges run by states. The federal government operates more than two-thirds of the exchanges.
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If the subsidies are invalidated in 36 states, then many of the tax penalties imposed on employers and individuals for non-compliance with the law also would be eliminated. Employers pay a penalty when their workers get subsidized on the exchange. Individuals get penalized if they don’t buy affordable insurance, but the subsidies often are what make it affordable.

In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. John Boehner said the Republican majority in both houses of Congress “also means renewing our commitment to repeal ObamaCare, which is hurting the job market along with Americans’ health care.”

Do you want to see Obamacare repealed or modified?

Photo credit: TomboysinFishnets (Creative Commons)