Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Judge Considers Bid To Dismiss House GOP Case Against Obama Administration And The Health Law
The Wall Street Journal: Judge Considers House GOP’s Case Against Obama’s Health Law
House Republicans filed a lawsuit in November claiming administration officials overstepped their authority by paying back insurers for discounts on health-plan deductibles they are required to offer low-income enrollees. The lawmakers allege that Congress never appropriated money to cover the cost of the discounts. The Obama administration, represented by the Justice Department, filed a motion for the court to dismiss the case on the grounds that the House lacked standing to sue because it hadn’t been harmed. U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer heard oral arguments on that motion on Thursday. (Radnofsky, 5/28)
The Washington Post: Judge Weighs Bid To Toss House GOP Suit Against Obama Health-Care Law
The suit was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on a party-line vote last July and filed in U.S. District Court in Washington. It focuses on the administration’s decisions to pay subsidies to insurance companies that they say were not authorized by Congress and to twice waive the deadline for the so-called “employer mandate” requiring larger employers to provide health insurance to employees. (Hsu, 5/28)
Reuters: Judge Grills Lawyer Defending Obama's Health Care law Changes
A U.S. judge on Thursday blasted the Obama administration's motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives over the implementation of the Democratic president's signature healthcare law. Republicans in the House filed a lawsuit in November, saying administration officials unlawfully bypassed Congress. (Dunsmur, 5/28)
The Associated Press: Administration Asks Judge To Toss House Health Care Suit
A skeptical federal judge grilled Obama administration lawyers Thursday over the House GOP's health care lawsuit, sounding unlikely to side with the president and dismiss the case. At issue in the case is some $175 billion the administration is paying health insurance companies over a decade to reimburse them for offering lowered rates for poor people. The House argues that Congress never specifically appropriated that money, and indeed denied an administration request for it, but that the administration is paying it anyway. (Werner, 5/28)
Bloomberg: Obamacare Judge Told Funding Dispute Belongs On Hill, Not Court
U.S. House Republicans suing the Obama administration over the federal health care law should change it if they don’t like it, a Justice Department lawyer told a skeptical judge in a bid to have the lawsuit thrown out. The House “has any number of tools” to settle its differences with the executive branch, without running to the courts, attorney Joel McElvain said. Republicans can negotiate with the administration and “they can pass a new statute,” he said. (Zajac, 5/28)
NBC News: Obama Administration Argues GOP Health Care Suit Should be Tossed
Representing the House was prominent George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley who argued the Administration is spending money for payments to insurance companies that was not appropriated by Congress and therefore acting unconstitutionally. It is Congress that holds the power of the purse, Turley argued. "We have named an assortment of injuries most obvious is the denial of the power of the purse," Turley told reporters outside the courthouse after the hearing. "If the Administration can claim the authority to take money directly out of the treasury in this fashion, then the power of the purse becomes a decorative element within our system." The administration also tried to make the argument that the House does not have legal standing to challenge how Obamacare is being implemented. (Moe, 5/28)
McClatchy: Health Care Law Supporters Encounter Resistance From Federal Judge
Appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush, Collyer repeatedly, and perhaps tellingly, hammered Justice Department attorney Joel McElvain with sharp comments like “You’re not getting my point,” “You are dodging my question” and “This is the problem with your brief. It’s just not direct.” (Doyle, 5/28)
