It sounds like the Affordable Care Act is in serious jeopardy. The fate of health insurance for an estimated 9.6 million people lies in the hands of the Supreme Court.
This lawsuit, King v. Burwell, is challenging a new angle that we have yet to hear about. It all boils down to these few words that were written into the Affordable Care Act that are in question, “an exchange established by the state”, as written now, this makes it illegal for the government to issue tax credits for health insurance. This means the 30 states that currently have federal health insurance exchanges could be breaking the law.
Data from the Department of Health and Human Services has the average value of health care subsidies at $268 a month, which brings the average out of pocket premium to $105 for subsidized enrollees.
I’m not saying that I’m a fan of Obamacare, but I would hate to see 9.6 million people lose their health insurance because they can no longer afford to pay for it without a subsidy. With the flu running rampant this time of year, among many other illnesses, I hate to think that hundreds of thousands of children could soon be without any coverage.
Just as we are getting used to the tax professional of Obamacare, it may be gone. We will soon see how this all unfolds for the 2015 tax year. Thank goodness we have professional tax software to help us keep up with these ever-changing times!
