"Why The Supreme Court's Power Play Is Disturbing For Obamacare" - TPM [View all]

[NRaleighLiberal]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/supreme-court-king-halbig-obamacare

SAHIL KAPUR NOVEMBER 10, 2014, 1:29 PM EST

"The Supreme Court's surprising decision on Friday to take a case aimed at invalidating federal Obamacare subsidies for millions of Americans foreshadows troubling news for the health care law, legal experts say.

The justices' move to hear King v. Burwell came before a hearing next month in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which vacated a three-judge panel's July ruling against the subsidies and decided to review the case en banc. Two trial court judges and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the subsidies, so there was no ongoing split in the circuit courts.

"I'm just stunned. I can't remember a time when a case was granted when there was a re-hearing pending in a circuit court," said Lucas A. Powe Jr., a Supreme Court historian at the University of Texas, Austin.

At issue is whether the language of the Obamacare statute restricts the premium tax credits to residents buying insurance from a state-run exchange, and prohibits the subsidies on the federal exchange which serves some 7 million Americans in 36 states. A ruling against the White House would blow a huge hole in Obamacare because the subsidies are critical to ensuring that lower-income Americans can afford insurance."

_______________snip____________ with much more to read.

worth the time to read. And a discussion.