Five Republican state governors, including Gov. Bobby Jindal, say they will not rescue a crucial part of Obamacare if it is struck down by the Supreme Court, underlining the prospect for a chaotic aftermath to a ruling that could force millions of Americans to pay much more for coverage or lose their health insurance.
As Reuters reports, the Supreme Court is due to hear opening arguments in the case known as King v. Burwell on March 4, marking the second major challenge to President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act after the justices ruled in 2012 against a claim that it was unconstitutional. The latest case tests the tax-credit subsidies at the core of Obamacare.
In its ruling expected by June, the high court could bar the federally run insurance marketplace from providing the subsidies in at least 34 states. That could throw the insurance system into turmoil as states respond in starkly different ways.
In response to Reuters’ queries, spokespeople for Jindal, as well as Republican governors in Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina and Wisconsin, say they are not willing to create a local exchange to keep subsidies flowing. Republicans argue that Obamacare is unacceptable government intervention that raises costs for consumers and businesses.
State government officials in Georgia, Missouri, Montana and Tennessee—a mix of Republicans and Democrats—says that opposition by majority Republican state legislators could make it all but impossible to set up a new exchange. Those nine states combined are home to 1.4 million people who have signed up for subsidized coverage in 2015, according to government data. The fate of 5.1 million residents in the remaining 25 states that have signed up for subsidized benefits on the HealthCare.gov exchange is also unclear.
Meanwhile, six other states—Delaware, Maine, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Virginia—are discussing contingency plans to keep the subsidies, but each faces substantial logistical or political barriers, according to officials. Ten states did not respond to Reuters queries, while three others had no comment.
