This may sound like an obscure technical problem, but the outcome of this case could, in theory, prove catastrophic to the American health care system. The right’s argument is, in effect, that every American who gained subsidized coverage through healthcare.gov shouldn’t have been able to do so. Why not? Because, according to the law’s critics, only those who enrolled through state exchange marketplaces are eligible for subsidies under their interpretation of the law. According to the Affordable Care Act’s architects, that’s demonstrably insane – why would they design their own system to fail on purpose? – but the right has clung to some ambiguous phrasing in the statute to insist millions of Americans should be stripped of their subsidies. And if consumers lose the subsidies, they can’t afford the insurance. And if they can’t afford the insurance, they withdraw from the system. And if they withdraw from the system, there may not be enough consumers to support the overall market. The “death spiral” kicks in and American health care unravels – if five justices say so. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a unanimous ruling, rejected the case as ridiculous. Judge Roger Gregory wrote that the plaintiffs could not “rely on our help to deny to millions of Americans desperately-needed health insurance through a tortured, nonsensical construction of a federal statute whose manifest purpose, as revealed by the wholeness and coherence of its text and structure, could not be more clear.” This is the case the Supreme Court today agreed to hear on appeal. Note, two federal district courts also rejected the matter as ridiculous, though far-right judges on the D.C. Circuit said they have no choice but interpret a possible drafting error in the most foolish way possible. And now we’ll wait to see if the Supreme Court is prepared to do the same. Do the high court’s conservatives see themselves as judges or partisan activists? Do they believe cherry-picking an ambiguous phrase in a massive statute is reason enough to destroy the American health care system? If contemporary politics weren’t quite so twisted, these questions would be easier to answer. For now, however, I’m reminded of Brian Beutler’s analysis from July, which still rings true: the case “was and remains a fundamentally dishonest solicitation of right-wing judicial activism.” #Health #Conservatives #Propaganda
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 02:20:10 +0000
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