Say goodbye to Obamacare...

[Jim Lane]

100. Consider the political consequences of a ruling against the ACA

Last week, many people who are getting subsidized health insurance under the ACA voted in favor of candidates who've vowed to repeal the ACA. Those voters just weren't thinking about their health insurance and had the luxury of voting on other issues.

Now, suppose in 2015 the Court rules that people in states using the federal exchange aren't eligible for subsidies. That means that millions of people no longer get that benefit. More precisely, they lose a benefit that they'd had for more than a year. That will concentrate their minds wonderfully.

Obama then proposes a simple fix to the statute to clarify that it means what everybody thought it meant for the first few years after its enactment. It really is a simple fix. The bill would fit on one page. If passed, it would restore the benefit to those millions of people. Reid and Pelosi immediately announce their support, joined by just about every other Democrat on Capitol Hill.

All right, GOP, over to you. Anyone voting for this "fix it" bill will be primaried by the Tea Party. Anyone voting against it will hear about it in the general election, from staunchly Republican voters who no longer have the luxury of voting on the basis of God, guns and gays. We might even retake the House in 2016.

I predict that the Court will uphold the subsidies.