Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) has introduced the Preserving Freedom and Choice in Health Care bill, which he frames as a response to the Supreme Court deciding for the plaintiffs in King vs. Burwell. This lawsuit seeks to force the administration to obey the law by not paying tax credits to health plans that operate in states using a federal health insurance exchange (i.e. healthcare.gov).
Victory for the plaintiffs would cause massive disruption in health insurance in the 36 states using healthcare.gov because beneficiaries’ premiums would increase significantly. Up to nine million people would experience this effect.
It is necessary for Congress to have an alternative to Obamacare ready in case the Supreme Court decides in favor of King because President Obama will immediately propose an amendment to change the law to accord with how he is executing it. That is, let tax credits flow through healthcare.gov. It would be a very simple amendment – just a few sentences. The risk of Congress panicking and simply voting for that amendment, and finally surrendering to Obamacare, is unacceptable.
Read the entire Health Alert at NCPA's Health Policy Blog.
Research and commentary from a former senior executive in the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
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