In This Issue:

- King v. Burwell before the Supreme Court and the Potential Congressional Response

- Implementation of the Affordable Care Act

- Other Federal Regulatory Initiatives

- Congressional Initiatives

- Other Health Care News

- Upcoming Congressional Hearings

- Excerpt from King v. Burwell before the Supreme Court and the Potential Congressional Response:

The health policy community is gearing up for the highly anticipated King v. Burwell case in the Supreme Court. Oral arguments begin on March 4th in what is looking to be the greatest potential threat to the ACA since the 2012 landmark case on the individual mandate, NFIB v. Sebelius. At risk are tax subsidies for an estimated 9.3 million people who live in one of the 34 states that use federally-facilitated marketplaces (“exchanges”). Further, if the Supreme Court strikes down these subsidies, the net destabilization effect on the insurance markets in those states could cause an estimated 35 percent increase in health care premiums for all consumers, according to the Urban Institute.

Although the majority of legal experts have tended to believe that the Obama Administration will prevail, recent history indicates that even the most respected Supreme Court watchers are unable to predict with any certainty how the justices might rule.