Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Hill Democrats Outline Consumer Impact If High Court Overturns Health Law's Subsidies
Florida residents would lose $12.3 billion in financial assistance in 2016 if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down insurance subsidies for states that haven't established their own exchanges, according to an analysis done by Democratic staffers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. That's by far the largest dollar amount at stake in the King v. Burwell case that's expected be decided in June. It reflects not only that Florida has the fourth largest population in the country, but also the high level of exchange enrollments in the state during the first year of Obamacare signups. Roughly 1 million Floridians selected health plans during the first open-enrollment period, trailing only California. (Demko, 12/18)
Georgia would have the fourth-highest number of people affected if the U.S. Supreme Court rules against the current implementation of the Affordable Care Act, a study has found. The case, King v. Burwell, involves a legal challenge to the tax credits in states with federally run exchanges. (Miller, 12/18)
The conservative advocacy group challenging the validity of billions of dollars in ObamaCare subsidies is suing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for failing to respond to public records requests connected to the case. The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) announced its suit on Thursday, claiming that HHS is "stonewalling" on three Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests that probe the development of the federal exchange and its ability to offer tax credits. (Viebeck, 12/18)