The top Obamacare official won’t say whether President Obama would work with Republicans to restore the healthcare law’s insurance subsidies should the Supreme Court block them.
“You’re not going to answer the question, are you,” Rep. Paul Ryan asked Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing Wednesday morning.
Ryan repeatedly pressed Burwell on whether the president would sign a GOP-led bill to restore the subsidies — although such legislation would almost certainly repeal other parts of the law Obama considers important, such as its individual and employer mandates.
“Is the president going to say ‘my way or the highway?’ ” Ryan asked. “Is he going to work with Congress to address this situation? Or is he going to put concrete around his ankles and say ‘it’s my way or nothing.’ ”
Burwell gave no specifics about how Obama would act if the Supreme Court strikes down subsidies for residents in more than 30 states relying on healthcare.gov instead of running their own insurance marketplaces. Instead, she responded to Ryan’s questions by talking about other elements of the case.
“You’re kinda going off topic, I’m going to cut you off there,” Ryan told her.
Burwell did say at one point that it’s up to Congress and the states to restore the subsidies. “The critical decisions will sit with the Congress and states and governors to determine if those subsidies are available to citizens,” she said.
But Ryan noted that if Congress agrees to a short-term fix — a possibility that is far from certain amid continuing GOP divisions over the issue — it would be up to Obama to sign or veto it.
The Supreme Court could block health insurance subsidies to low and middle-income Americans later this month if it upholds the King v. Burwell challenge to the Affordable Care Act.
Republicans want the case upheld, but some have introduced plans to prevent Americans from losing the subsidies immediately. Others, including Ryan, say they’re still working on such plans. But GOP leadership is likely to face a rebellion from the Right against any efforts to extend the subsidies.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misidentified the committee and the representative questioning Burwell. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.
