In the wake of dueling rulings this week from federal courts, only one thing appears reasonably certain about the Affordable Care Act —the signature health care law is heading back to the United States Supreme Court.
Aside from that, conclusions about the latest kick of the political football are ambiguous at best. In a likely futile effort to keep it simple, here’s what happened: A panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 that tax subsidies for health insurance coverage purchased from federal exchanges are illegal; almost simultaneously, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled 3-0 in the opposite direction. Among the lessons is a reminder that elections do matter; all the justices who supported Obamacare as it stands were nominated by Democratic presidents, while the two who rejected it were nominated by Republican presidents.
But Americans wouldn’t allow a debate over Obamacare to devolve into partisan bickering, would we? Wait, of course we would. “This ruling against one of the health care law’s central pillars is just one latest reminder of how problem-riddled and unworkable the Affordable Care Act is,” said Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas. “There are better solutions to ensure Americans who are young, or struggling, or living with a pre-existing condition can access good health care.”
Therein lies the problem. While there are flaws with Obamacare, Republicans have spent four years trying to undermine the law rather than fixing it. Herrera Beutler, in a meeting recently with The Columbian’s Editorial Board, said the law should be repealed, but criticized her party for not devising an alternative: “This is an area I think Republicans have blown it. It does a lot more harm than good.”