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Three weeks before an expected Supreme Court ruling that could strike down Obamacare subsidies for 6.4 million Americans, President Barack Obama and Republican foes began to blame each other for the possible damage. In recent days, Obama has given back-to-back, passionate defenses of the Affordable Care Act as a fulfillment of the American social contract to ensure access to health care to everyone. Republicans on Capitol Hill, who hate the law but are wary that the ruling could strip benefits from millions of voters in predominantly Republican states, are pledging not to fix the damage of a Supreme Court ruling without eliminating the law’s more onerous provisions. (Haberkorn and Wheaton, 6/9)

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell is ready to defend President Barack Obama's health care law before congressional Republicans who consider it a failure and who hope the Supreme Court will void one of its cornerstones — federal subsidies that help millions afford coverage. Burwell was scheduled to testify Wednesday before the GOP-led House Ways and Means Committee as Obama's five-year-old health overhaul remains a partisan flashpoint likely to reverberate through next year's presidential and congressional elections. (Fram, 6/10)