States' delay request for arguments in 'Obamacare' lawsuit

[Elderberry]

Houston Chronicle by KEVIN McGILL 7/2/2019

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court Tuesday rejected a request to delay next week's hearing on the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care law.

Eighteen Republican-dominated states opposed to the law said they needed more time to prepare answers to complex issues the appeals court raised in a recent filing as they prepared for the hearing.

States supporting "Obamacare" had opposed the delay, saying it would contribute to uncertainty for insurance companies, regulators and people who need health care coverage.

Arguments remain set for next Tuesday afternoon at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The main issue in the case is a federal judge's December ruling that the law was rendered unconstitutional in 2017 when Congress zeroed out the tax penalty for people who don't have insurance.

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/texas/article/States-requesting-delay-requested-in-Obamacare-14066791.php

[Cyber Liberty]

That funny sound we hear is the should of a deck being stacked.

[edpc]

Arguments remain set for next Tuesday afternoon at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The main issue in the case is a federal judge's December ruling that the law was rendered unconstitutional in 2017 when Congress zeroed out the tax penalty for people who don't have insurance.https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/texas/article/States-requesting-delay-requested-in-Obamacare-14066791.php

It’s a losing argument, since the constitutionality of the previous decision rested upon the power of Congress to tax and enact the plan. That still exists, despite what people think.


But employers have been aggressive in successfully delaying the Cadillac tax , convincing a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House that the tax wasn’t just for companies with lucrative benefit packages. President Donald Trump Monday night signed the stopgap funding measure, which delays the Cadillac tax from 2020 to 2022.

“(The) Cadillac Tax was the biggest concern for employers that provide health insurance to 178 million Americans,” Mercer ’s Tracy Watts, a leader and senior partner in the benefits consultancy’s Washington office wrote Tuesday. “Nearly a fourth of employers were likely to get tagged by the tax in its first year, even though it was supposedly going to affect only very rich – ‘Cadillac’ – health plans.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2018/01/23/big-lobbies-and-employers-once-again-win-delay-for-obamacares-cadillac-tax/#e0774a43ed41


This has been continuously kicked down the road, instead of being eliminated. It’s going to affect a lot of blue collar workers, who have negotiated these types of plans, through collective bargaining. There’s a good reason it keeps getting rescheduled, after a presidential election cycle. You really have to wonder why it just hasn’t been eliminated, when the majority was available.