VIDEO: ObamaCare Taxes, Subsidies, and Mandates Hang on Halbig Case

06/19/13

By Hadley Heath

If you aren't familiar with the legal challenges to the IRS rule extending ObamaCare's exchange subsidies to federally-run exchanges, now is the time to catch up. 

Importantly, the tax credits and subsidies at issue trigger mandates in the health law for employers to offer health insurance and for individuals to obtain it.  These mandates are at the heart of the law's functionality, and 34 states would be affected should plaintiffs succeed in their challenge and reverse the IRS rule. 

In this video from a Cato Institute event this week, panelists discuss the controversy surrounding federally-operated exchanges, and specifially Halbig vs. Sebelius, one of the related cases.  Why did the law's original language restrict subsidies and tax credits to people in state-established exchanges?  Was this a "glitch" or a design? Does the IRS have the authority to "correct" or change this provision?  What chances do plaintiffs have to win?  What will the consequences be if they do?

Watch the video below and read more here. Panelists include:

     - Cato's Michael Cannon
     - Lead attorney in Halbig, Michael Carvin (calls this "literally the simplest case I've ever had")
     - Associate Deputy Attorney General at the DOJ, Robert Weiner
     - Constitutional Accountability Center's Simon Lazarus (says the case is "in-your-face preposterous")


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