he Supreme Court is expected announce its decision on King v. Burwell soon. The case hinges on whether Obamacare tax credits can be paid in states that did not establish their own exchanges. If the plaintiffs win, health insurers will lose tax credits that allow them to offer artificially low premiums to Obamacare beneficiaries. About seven million people will suddenly be asked to pay full premiums for their plans. To be blunt, they will freak out, and many will drop out of Obamacare, putting the president’s signature achievement in jeopardy.
This gives Congress the opportunity to present the president with reform. Here is one suggestion: Every single penny of Obamacare’s federal spending on health benefits goes to insurers. Not one penny goes to beneficiaries themselves. How about giving that money to beneficiaries directly, and allowing them to decide how much to spend on medical care directly, instead of premiums to health insurers?
Read the entire column at Forbes.
Research and commentary from a former senior executive in the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
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