{"id":49756,"date":"2015-03-05T06:45:24","date_gmt":"2015-03-05T13:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/03\/05\/looking-at-the-arguments-in-king-v-burwell.html"},"modified":"2015-05-12T05:42:35","modified_gmt":"2015-05-12T11:42:35","slug":"looking-at-the-arguments-in-king-v-burwell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/03\/05\/looking-at-the-arguments-in-king-v-burwell.html","title":{"rendered":"Looking at the arguments in "King v. Burwell""},"content":{"rendered":"

King v. Burwell<\/i> was the case argued before SCOTUS yesterday over whether a provision in the ACA means that subsidies can only be given when a state itself has established an exchange, or if the state exchanges created by default by the federal government can also provide such exchanges.<\/p>\n

While confessing that I am a huge supporter of the ACA (at least as compared to the status quo ante<\/i> and in comparison to the vague handwaving the GOP has offered in lieu), the case seems like a huge waste of time to me, right alongside the 50-odd times the GOP have tried to overturn the ACA in Congress since getting a majority in 2010.<\/p>\n

To that end, it's disappointing but not at all surprising that the case hinges on one or two centralistish justices, with the usual 4 "liberals" apparently lining up behind the government's arguments, and the usual 3 "conservatives" lining up against. The silliest instance of which was Antonin Scalia asserting that it was a simple fix if SCOTUS tossed out the subsidies, saying with an apparently straight face:<\/p>\n

"What about \u00ad\u00ad what about Congress? You really think Congress is just going to sit there while \u00ad\u00ad while all of these disastrous consequences ensue. I mean, how often have we come out with a decision such as the \u00ad\u00ad you know, the bankruptcy court decision? Congress adjusts, enacts a statute that \u00ad\u00ad that takes care of the problem. It happens all the time. Why is that not going to happen here? […] \u00ad\u00ad I don't care what Congress you're talking about. If the consequences are as disastrous as you say, so many million people without \u00ad\u00ad without insurance and whatnot, yes, I think this Congress would act."<\/i><\/p>\n

The Justice ignores that Congress actually very much did allow "so many million people without insurance and whatnot" for a very long time, that this particular Congress clearly won't fix the statutory language of the ACA to make the subsidy question clearer, and that there are many in Congress would be quite happy to see the previous situation return and are on record as saying so.<\/p>\n

Scalia is either disingenuous or else clueless. My bet, for the historical record, is the former.<\/p>\n

I guess we'll find out the answer to the question later this year.<\/p>\n

(Transcript of the arguments here: http:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/oral_arguments\/argument_transcripts\/14-114_lkhn.pdf<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\nWill concern for states’ rights win out in subsidies battle? Today’s argument in Plain English<\/a><\/span>
\nAfter nearly ninety minutes of oral arguments today in King v. Burwell, the challenge to the availability of tax subsidies for people who purchase health insurance on a marketplace created by the federal government, six Justices had tipped their hands. Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephe\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

View on Google+<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

King v. Burwell was the case argued before SCOTUS yesterday over whether a provision in the ACA means that subsidies can only be given when a state itself has established an exchange, or if the state exchanges created by default by the federal government can also provide such exchanges. While confessing that I am a … Continue reading “Looking at the arguments in "King v. Burwell"”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106,134,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plusposts","category-health-care","category-politics-law"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51416,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/06\/10\/john-thune-obamacare-and-blaming-the-victim.html","url_meta":{"origin":49756,"position":0},"title":"John Thune, Obamacare, and Blaming the Victim","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 10-Jun-15 9:43am","format":false,"excerpt":"After the GOP and conservatives have done everything within their power short of armed revolt to destroy the Affordable Care Act, culminating in the ludicrous King v Burwell case before SCOTUS, Sen. John Thune looks at the disastrous fall-out of an administration loss in that case as ... proof that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50977,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/05\/11\/sooner-or-later-you-have-to-come-up-with-an-alternative-to-the-thing-you-dislike.html","url_meta":{"origin":49756,"position":1},"title":"Sooner or later, you have to come up with an alternative to the thing you dislike","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 11-May-15 10:42pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Karl Rove, of all people, has been telling Republicans for quite some time that if they are going to long-term find the \"Obamacare is EVIL!\" party line successful, they will need to come up with a plausible alternative that satisfies the populace. The GOP has quietly ignored him, since actually\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51615,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/06\/25\/scotus-upholds-federal-subsidies-for-the-affordable-care-act-huzzah.html","url_meta":{"origin":49756,"position":2},"title":"SCOTUS upholds federal subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (huzzah)","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 25-Jun-15 9:01am","format":false,"excerpt":"The King v Burwell case was goofy to begin with, and there were plenty of indicators that the GOP was more than a bit concerned that it might actually \"win\" this one and then be stuck with fixing the problem. Regardless, the Supreme Court upheld the law today, saying that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43735,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/07\/22\/making-affordable-care-unaffordable.html","url_meta":{"origin":49756,"position":3},"title":"Making Affordable Care Unaffordable","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 22-Jul-14 1:10pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Oh, the irony that we make it more difficult the poor to get affordable coverage, because some individuals\u00a0didn't want the subsidies so that they couldn't afford it and therefore could opt out because it would be an economic hardship. \u00a0No, not irony, insanity.Speaking of sanity, in a sane world, this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":132531,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/01\/09\/gop-governors-arent-all-thrilled-about-aca-repeal.html","url_meta":{"origin":49756,"position":4},"title":"GOP Governors aren't all thrilled about ACA repeal","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 9-Jan-17 9:03am","format":false,"excerpt":"A number of them, in fact, have seen their uninsured rate go way down, due to the ACA. And they aren't all that happy about Congressional GOP plans to scrap the whole thing without a clear path forward GOP Governors Warn Congress on Obamacare Repeal - The Atlantic GOP Governors\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41671,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/04\/10\/and-so-the-aca-takes-center-stage.html","url_meta":{"origin":49756,"position":5},"title":"And so the ACA takes center stage","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 10-Apr-14 5:24pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I can hardly blame Sebelius for resigning, as she's been the focus of a shitstorm of pressure and hostility ever since she's taken on the HHS Secretary role. Some of that (Healthcare.gov roll-out problems) was deserved, a lot of it (Obamacare demonification) was not.The timing is quite appropriate. The initial\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49756"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50985,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49756\/revisions\/50985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}