Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Plaintiff's Standing Questioned In Supreme Court Health Law Challenge
The lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court battle over the health law’s insurance tax credits appears to qualify for veterans’ medical coverage, raising questions about his ability to challenge the law. ... Standing issues with these three plaintiffs don’t jeopardize the case, legal experts say, because only one plaintiff needs standing for the suit to proceed before the court. Instead, they could create skepticism about the strength of the challengers’ case and highlight the difficulty of finding plaintiffs to show the health law’s subsidies harm Americans, these experts say. (Radnofsky, Bravin and Kendall, 2/6)
The attorneys challenging Obamacare’s tax subsidies say that the lead plaintiff’s potential eligibility for veterans health coverage won’t derail their lawsuit in the Supreme Court. ... The Competitive Enterprise Institute, which is coordinating and funding the lawsuit, says that the veteran’s status is a non-issue. And even if it were, there are other plaintiffs in King V. Burwell whose standing — the legal term for the right to bring a lawsuit — is not contested. (Haberkorn, 2/7)