The pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling on ObamaCare coupled with a small provision buried in the law could give Republicans in the new Congress the opportunity to power-boost free-market health reform. The high court will hear arguments, likely in March, on whether the Obama administration had legal authority to allow tax subsidies to flow through the health insurance exchange established by the federal government. Health insurance guru Robert Laszewski of Health Policy and Strategy Associates told a Cato Institute forum recently it would be a crisis ... a terrible mess if the court were to strike down the federal exchange subsidies. He says 36 states would be forced to quickly create their own exchanges (no easy task) or else cause millions of people to lose their (heavily subsidized) health insurance. If the Supreme Court were to decide that the law actually means what it says — subsidies are available only through an exchange established by the state — as many as 5 million people in the 36 states relying on the federal exchange would suddenly lose their subsidies. But that doesnt mean they have to lose their insurance. The court decision could instead open the door for the new Congress to offer new alternatives. Congress could quickly throw out a safety net for the millions of people who are currently getting subsidized coverage in federal exchanges. Many of them lost their private coverage because it didnt comply with ObamaCare and were thrown into the exchanges. Eighty-six percent are getting subsidies for their expensive ObamaCare-mandated coverage. They cannot be left high and dry. Congress could give the court the space to throw out the illegal tax credits by promising a safety net to the millions who would lose their subsidies and likely their insurance. Need Flexibility Political leaders and policy experts across the political spectrum have long supported providing refundable tax credits to help the uninsured get coverage. But in providing its own extravagantly complex version of these subsidies, ObamaCare created a mountain of regulations that suffocate competition and require people to purchase coverage that is much more expensive than most would have chosen for themselves. Congress could structure the subsidies in a way that gives consumers much more flexibility and choice of benefit structures to better fit their insurance policies with their pocketbooks. There surely would be bipartisan support for extending subsidies to those who would otherwise lose coverage, and it would be difficult for President Obama to veto the bill and be responsible once again for people losing their health insurance. Read More At Investors Business Daily: news.investors/ibd-editorials-viewpoint/111914-727223-republican-congress-can-boost-free-market-health-reform.htm#ixzz3JYo7JOB5 Follow us: @IBDinvestors on Twitter | InvestorsBusinessDaily on Facebook
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 00:22:34 +0000