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Court Strikes Down Obamacare Subsidies, Mandates for Many

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Court Strikes Down Obamacare Subsidies, Mandates for Many
IRS May Not Change Tax Law Without Clear Congressional Authority 

(Washington, D.C.) – This morning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the Obama Administration violated the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, by subsidizing health insurance purchases in the 36 states that did not establish their own insurance market exchanges. This decision will be appealed by the administration. But if it is allowed to stand, hundreds of billions in taxpayer-funded subsidies will no longer be available in these states – and residents will again be legally permitted to choose whether to purchase insurance without penalties. The Court determined that the ACA law was clearly written to provide subsidies only in states that established their own health exchanges, and the administration was not permitted to offer hundreds of billions in tax subsidies without legal permission. In the 36 states that did not establish an exchange, the subsidies and mandates would be struck down.

Daniel Garza, Executive Director of The LIBRE Initiative, released the following statement: 

"This is the result of implementing a law without regard to what it actually says. It's what happens when the White House forces through a law on a partisan basis, against strong public opposition, and with constant unilateral changes throughout the implementation process. The second-highest court in the land has ruled that the administration has gone too far in making up parts of the law as they go along. And millions of individuals, families, and small businesses are again in limbo because the president refused to faithfully execute the law as passed. 

The health care law requires people to purchase insurance policies approved by Washington under threat of significant tax penalties. Today's ruling would effectively lift that mandate in states without a state-run exchange. It's estimated that more than 8 million Americans will be freed from that penalty under this ruling – including nearly 300,000 in Arizona, 1 million in Florida and 1.5 million in Texas. Hopefully today's ruling will prompt the White House to admit the law is not working as promised, and begin to offer a serious plan to deliver on the promises the president made and repeated many times."

For interviews with a LIBRE representative, please contact: Brian Faughnan, 571-257-3309 or Steven Cruz, 202-578-6173

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