King V. Burwell: Searching For Signs Of What The Justices Are Thinking
News outlets analyze the words and records of different Supreme Court justices in search of some indication of how they might rule in the pending challenge to the use of health law subsidies in states that did not set up their own online insurance marketplaces. Meanwhile, a number of decisions -- including King v. Burwell -- are still pending even as the Court's term is nearing its close. And on Capitol Hill, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, makes a strong statement in opposition to a "one-sentence" Obamacare fix.
The Washington Post:
Looking For Clues To Supreme Court’s Final Rulings In Ginsburg’s Good Mood
The Supreme Court in the next two weeks will announce whether the Affordable Care Act survives a challenge to the subsidies that millions of people use to purchase health insurance, and whether gay couples have a legal right to marry nationwide. In a gentle interview with her former law clerk and now California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu, there was no discussion of Obamacare. (Barnes, 6/14)
The New York Times:
Justices’ Words Combed For Clues On Major Pending Decisions
Three years ago this week, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg chided the news media for “publishing a steady stream of rumors and fifth-hand accounts” predicting how the court would rule on a constitutional challenge to President Obama’s health care law. “At the Supreme Court,” Justice Ginsburg said, quoting the journalist Joan Biskupic, “those who know don’t talk, and those who talk don’t know.” But perhaps those who know do hint. Those same remarks, for instance, contained a playful clue. (Liptak, 6/15)
Reuters:
The Voice Of Opposition Past, Justice Kennedy May Save Obamacare Now
Justice Anthony Kennedy was furious when a majority on the U.S. Supreme Court upheld President Barack Obama’s healthcare law. As he read the dissenting opinion from the bench three years ago, his anger was palpable. ... Now, as the country awaits a ruling in the second major challenge to Obama's signature Affordable Care Act, a question is whether the justice who was the voice of the opposition then could provide the critical fifth vote to uphold the law on the nine-justice court now. ... During oral arguments Justice Kennedy suggested the challengers' view of the law could put unconstitutional federal pressure on states, because if they failed to set up exchanges, they would lose subsidies .... Kennedy also does not rigidly interpret the words of a statute. He considers how a decision may play out, and he noted that if “people pay mandated taxes” and are denied tax credits, “the cost of insurance will be sky-high.” (Biskupic, 6/14)
USA Today:
Supreme Court Races The Clock On Gay Marriage, Obamacare And More
The future of same-sex marriage and President Obama's health care law hang in the balance as the Supreme Court's 2014 term draws rapidly to a close this month. But those aren't the only big issues on the justices' plate. Free speech and fair elections. Religious liberty and racial discrimination. Clean air and capital punishment. All await rulings over the next three weeks as the court completes action on 20 cases remaining this term. The next decisions will come Monday morning. (Wolf, 6/14)
The Hill:
Senate GOP Chairman: No 'One Sentence' Fix For Obamacare
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) wants to make it clear that his party will not pass the one-sentence fix that President Obama has said could save his healthcare law from a potential Supreme Court ruling this month. “The never-ending negative side effects of ObamaCare are so convoluted and intertwined that one sentence can’t fix this latest problem without continuing the others,” Hatch wrote Friday in an op-ed for FoxNews.com. The case, King v. Burwell, is centered around one disputed clause in the Affordable Care Act, which President Obama said Monday could be resolved by a one-sentence piece of legislation. (Ferris, 6/12)
