The court ruling handed down this morning at the District of Columbia federal appeals court could wipe out insurance subsidies in up to 36 states. That could destroy the entire Obamacare system, at least in the short run, because 87 percent of recipients are receiving some kind of subsidy.
Over at Vox.com, they have a detailed explanation of the case.
Here’s a little piece of that analysis:
“Halbig v. Burwell is arguably the Affordable Care Act’s greatest existential threat since the Supreme Court case decided in 2012.
“(Today), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a ruling against the federal government, which threatens health insurance subsidies in over30 states.
“Without subsidies, health reform could fall apart. That makes this court case a bigger deal than GOP efforts to repeal Obamacare. There have been over 40 repeal votes since the law was passed, but they’ve always been toothless: even if repeal made it through Congress, President Obama promised to veto any legislation that dismantled his signature legislation.
“But this court case is out of Congress’s hands — and out of President Obama’s, too.”
