No plan if Obamacare loses in King vs. Burwell, secretary says

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell told members of Congress on Tuesday that the department doesn’t have a plan in place if portions of the Affordable Care Act are struck down in King vs. Burwell.

Burwell pointed to “the massive damage to our healthcare system that would be caused by an adverse decision.”

While a Supreme Court decision in the case is months away, she said, “We are confident that we will prevail …” and that “citizens in every state would be entitled to tax credits, regardless of whether they purchased their insurance on a federal or state marketplace.”

Burwell was responding to a Jan. 28 letter sent by House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican leaders asking her whether the administration had a contingency plan in light of the upcoming Supreme Court decision in King vs. Burwell, expected by late June.

Oral arguments begin March 4.

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The key question in the case is whether the Affordable Care Act authorizes subsidies to individuals who purchase insurance through an exchange established by the federal government, and not a state. The language of the ACA limits eligibility to a state exchange, according to the committee letter. An estimated five million people who purchased subsidies through a federal exchange could be affected, the letter states.

A recent report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said states tied to federal exchanges stand to lose billions in healthcare spending if King wins. See their state-by-state breakdown below:

[Also: Hospitals lose big if King wins]

Hospital Spending by Those Who Would Become Uninsured if the Supreme Court Finds for the Plaintiff in King v. Burwell, 2016 (Millions $)

Twitter: @SusanMorseHFN