The central issue in the case is whether the Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148 , as amended) gave authority to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to make premium tax credits available to eligible individuals in every state (including the District of Columbia) or just the states that chose to establish their own health insurance exchanges (state-based exchanges, or SBEs). Loss of premium tax credits would directly affect the affordability of health insurance for the consumers who no longer have the credits. To the extent that consumers and others (referred to as stakeholders in this report) may be motivated to respond to the Court decision (and respond to other stakeholder actions), this report provides a timeline that identifies selected 2015 dates related to exchange establishment and operation, legislative calendars, and regulation of the individual health insurance market, among other issues. As indicated above, the direction and scope of the Court decision is not known. Implications of the decision beyond issues related to private health insurance are outside the scope of this report. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision in King v. Burwell by the end of its term in June 2015.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision in King v. Burwell by the end of June. The central issue in the case is whether the Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148, as amended) gives authority to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to make premium tax credits available to eligible individuals in every state (including the District of Columbia) or just the states that choose to establish their own health insurance exchanges (state-based exchanges, or SBEs).
As of the date of this report, the direction and scope of the Court decision is unknown. However, it is generally agreed that a Court decision favoring the plaintiffs would affect the health insurance options of millions of consumers, as loss of premium tax credits would affect the affordability of health insurance for the consumers who no longer have the credits. Such a decision and its effects may motivate insurers, consumers, legislators, and others (referred to as stakeholders in this report) to act.
To the extent stakeholders are motivated to respond to the Court's decision, this report provides a timeline that identifies selected 2015 dates related to exchange establishment and operation, legislative calendars, and regulation of the individual health insurance market, among other issues. This information may be useful for setting parameters around potential stakeholder actions.