In 2015, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will face new challenges in a Republican-controlled Congress, and continued challenges in the courts. The Supreme Court recently granted a writ of certiorari to review a Fourth Circuit...more
As every healthcare geek and Supreme Court wonk will tell you, on March 4, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in King v. Burwell (an amalgamation of four cases – King v. Burwell, Halbig v. Burwell, Pruitt v....more
Approaching the midpoint of its 2014-15 term, the Supreme Court has added to its docket several cases with potentially wide-reaching implications for a range of important policy and business issues. The Court accepted for...more
In This Issue: - Changes Ahead for Health Policy In 2015 - Implementation of the Affordable Care Act - Other Federal Regulatory Initiatives - Congressional Initiatives - Other Health Care...more
Important dates for the ACA: ..On November 7, 2014, the Supreme Court took what appears to be an unusual step in accepting review of King v. Burwell without the necessity or the benefit of a clear split on the outcome...more
Each year brings significant changes and challenges in the laws governing the health care industry, and 2014 proved to be no exception. What the year may have lacked in the high drama that accompanies comprehensive health...more
In This Issue: - Top News ..Congress Passes Omnibus Spending Package ..HRSA Cancels Plan for 340B ‘Mega Reg’; Congress Weighs Options ..Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to ACA Subsidies ...more
For many employers, the effective date of the Affordable Care Act's "play-or-pay" mandate is only weeks away. The impending deadline comes amid questions about the future—and perhaps viability—of the law itself. Entering...more
On Nov. 7, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear the case of King v. Burwell, one of multiple challenges to the validity of the premium tax credits provided under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to...more
The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it would hear King v. Burwell, a case challenging whether tax subsidies are available to individuals purchasing health insurance through the Federal exchange rather than State...more
With a decision that, I can only imagine, ricocheted against the White House walls, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to hear King v. Burwell this past Friday, November 7, 2014, despite Obama’s administration’s request for...more
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s decision in King v. Burwell. In that case, the Fourth Circuit held that tax credits for health insurance...more
Are the federal government’s subsidies to purchasers of health insurance available only to those who purchase insurance from state-run exchanges or to those who purchase from federal health care exchanges as well? Was the...more
AffOn Tuesday, September 30, federal Judge Ronald White of the Eastern District of Oklahoma ruled in Pruitt v. Burwell that the plain text of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) does not allow for the...more
The next Supreme Court battle over the Affordable Care Act is likely brewing in the circuit courts. On July 22, 2014, in Halbig v. Burwell, a divided D.C. Circuit held that the ACA does not allow the federal government to...more
How did two courts reach opposite decisions about tax subsidies for people who buy insurance through the federal exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA)? In Halbig v. Burwell, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the...more
On September 4, 2014, the D.C. Circuit vacated a panel decision in Halbig v. Burwell (Civ. No. 14-5018) striking down the federal government’s provision of premium subsidies to individuals purchasing coverage through the...more
Following up on our Week 22 ACA Countdown to Compliance post, the D.C. Court of Appeals granted the government’s petition for en banc review in Halbig v. Burwell, which held low income subsidies to purchase coverage through...more
The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has vacated the 2-1 panel decision issued July 22, 2014, in Halbig v. Burwell, which struck down the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Rule providing for Affordable Care Act...more
On July 22, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued conflicting opinions on a key aspect of the Affordable Care Act ("ACA"). The cases are Halbig v....more
On July 22, 2014, two federal appellate courts issued conflicting decisions, within hours of each other, regarding the IRS final rule published on May 23, 2012 (the “IRS Rule”), intended to implement the exchange-related tax...more
At issue in Halbig v. Burwell and King v. Burwell is whether or not subsidies to buy insurance on an exchange are available in both state and federal exchanges. On its face the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) provides for...more
Does the Affordable Care Act (ACA) authorize the payment of premium and copayment subsidies, or “premium assistance subsidies,” to individuals enrolled in a federally established Exchange? On July 22, 2014, two federal courts...more
These four words “established by the state,” at first blush do not appear obtuse or particularly vague. But these four words form the basis for the latest challenges to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and have resulted in two...more
On July 22, 2014, three-judge panels of the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia and Fourth Circuits issued conflicting decisions regarding whether the Affordable Care Act (ACA) permits federal tax credits for...more