Sen. Orrin Hatch is firing back at critics who claim the GOP has no alternative should the Supreme Court strike down Obamacare subsidies in the next few weeks.
If the court strikes down subsidies, then the Utah senator supports providing temporary financial assistance to those hurt by the ruling, according to an editorial on Foxnews.com.
“At the same time, I will work to give states and individuals flexibility and freedom from Obamacare’s burdensome mandates,” Hatch wrote.
The court will rule in the King v. Burwell case whether the federal government has the authority to provide subsidies to states that didn’t set up their own health insurance exchange, and use the federal government’s exchange.
If the subsidies are struck down, more than 6 million people will be affected and could lose care coverage after it becomes unaffordable.
That potential political nightmare has had Republicans scrambling to provide a backup plan in case the subsidies suddenly disappear. Numerous lawmakers have issued their own plans that generally offer some type of short-term extension.
However, a long-term extension that the president called for earlier this week seems highly unlikely.
“Republicans in Congress have been working for months on policy solutions to ensure a workable transitional plan is ready when the court comes down with their ruling,” Hatch wrote.
He added that the GOP has put together substantive alternatives to the healthcare law that would increase patient choice and reduce Washington’s role in healthcare, but did not elaborate.
