Yesterday, a federal district judge in Oklahoma ruled that the “federal government could not subsidize health insurance in three dozen states that refused to establish their own marketplaces.” The New York Times,
Judge Ronald A. White of the Federal District Court in Muskogee, Okla., said Tuesday that a rule issued by the Obama administration allowing subsidies in the 36 states was arbitrary and capricious, in excess of statutory authority or simply “an invalid implementation” of the 2010 health care law… However, the judge stayed the effect of his decision to allow for an appeal, and Emily Pierce, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said the federal government would file one…
Judge White, who was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2003, insisted that his ruling would not gut or destroy anything. “On the contrary,” he said, “the court is upholding the act as written. Congress is free to amend the Affordable Care Act to provide for tax credits in both state and federal exchanges, if that is the legislative will.”
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