Fatal Blow For Obamacare?

A federal appeals court delivered a serious blow to President Barack Obama's health care law Tuesday, potentially denying billions of dollars in subsidies for many low and middle-income people who bought policies. Without these subsidies, it is unlikely these people can pay their Obamacare premiums each month.  Before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, a group of small business owners argued that the law authorizes subsidies only for people who buy insurance through markets established by the states and not by the federal government.  

As the law is written now, Obamacare restricts subsides to consumers in exchanges established by a state.  This, in effect, would nix the Internal Revenue Service stipulation that concludes all 50 states have subsidized coverage. Of course, the Obama Administration will appeal this devastating ruling set forth by the Appeals Court.  The Obama Administration considers this ruling a severe setback to Obamacare because most states are unwilling or completely unable to establish their own insurance exchanges. The state of Oregon comes to mind.

There is no doubt this is a major defeat for Obamacare.  Hobby Lobby was significant in that it was the first successful  "chipping away" at Obamacare.  The Hobby Lobby decision, by the SCOTUS, was about companies not having to violate their religious freedom by not giving contraceptive care to women.  It does not mean women cannot get their own contraceptive care (despite the hysterics of leftists).  I find the histrionics of leftists like Sandra Fluke amazing by saying their boss does not have the right to deny them contraceptive care (which they can get on their own for little or nothing).  Yet, they want their boss to pay for their birth control.  Amazing.  But, the Appeals Count ruling Tuesday, about the state exchanges, is  devastating to Obama's healthcare law.  This will be appealed to the SCOTUS as already stated.  But, it is very unlikely it will be overturned on appeal to this nation's highest court.  In fact, I will not be surprised if the SCOTUS does not allow the appeals decision to be heard. It is rare that a federal appeals decision is overturned without a significant error on the appeals court part.  That doesn't seem to be the case right now.  It does mean that Obamacare is in danger of being declared unconstitutional merely on grounds of a technicality of wording in the bill.  Maybe Nancy Pelosi and friends should have read the bill before passing it instead of passing it and THEN reading it.  Now, it's time to pay the price for such idiocy.

NOTE:   The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a federal regulations that implemented subsidies that are vital to President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul, in direct conflict with another ruling on the issue handed down earlier on Tuesday. Click HERE for more details.