Obamacare supporters this week launched a full-court press in support of millions of Americans who are at risk of losing federal health insurance subsides ahead of upcoming Supreme Court oral arguments.
With justices set to hear arguments in King v. Burwell on March 4, Capitol Hill Democrats who helped push through the healthcare law in 2010 — as well as several high profile allies — made their formal pitch to the court before a Wednesday deadline for amicus briefs.
The case threatens federal subsidies given to millions of low- and middle-income people to help pay for health insurance premiums.
At issue is the wording of the healthcare law. An appeals court ruled in July that the law’s language specifically limits insurance tax credits to consumers who live in states that have set up their own insurance markets, known as exchanges. Exchanges run by the federal government, the court said, are excluded from the subsidy program.
The Obama administration says the law’s intent was that the federal government would step in and run exchanges in states that declined to participate.
Thirty-four states have opted not to create their own exchanges, meaning a ruling against the administration would significantly cripple the healthcare law.
“Our [amicus] brief demonstrates Congress’ clear intent that premium tax credits were to be made available to all qualified consumers purchasing insurance through exchanges set up by the states and by the federal government,” said House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
Rep. Sandy Levin, D-Mich., who chaired the House Ways and Means Committee when the bill was written, called the appeals court’s interpretation “a figment of [the plaintiffs’] imagination.”
“That issue was never part of the discussion [when the bill was drafted],” said Levin during a Wednesday news event. “It was never mentioned, never discussed, even by [Obamacare] opponents.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., accused “right-wing” Obamacare opponents of engaging in a desperate attempt to damage the program.
“The text of the Affordable Care Act is clear: Premium tax credits are available to all eligible Americans, regardless where they live,” she said.
Pelosi said a ruling upholding the lower court’s decision would throw insurance markets into turmoil and have “widespread ripple effects.”
Democrats cite a recent study by the liberal-leaning Urban Institute that estimates that if the high court was to rule against the administration, 8.2 million Americans would lose healthcare coverage.
Several healthcare groups, including the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Catholic Health Association of the United States submitted court briefs this week supporting the administration’s position.
Other groups to file court briefs on behalf of the healthcare law include the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action and the Small Business Majority foundation.
Amicus briefs supporting the plaintiff were due in December.
Obamacare opponents have accused Democrats’ revisionist history, saying the law’s language clearly states that consumers getting insurance through the federal government can’t get subsidies. And they say lower court’s decision shows that legal momentum is on their side.
“The administration’s actions have not only violated the law and caused massive economic disruption, they have also subverted the democratic process,” said Michael Cannon of the free-market Cato Institute.
