BREAKING: Federal Appeals Court Withdraws Decision Defunding Obamacare
Source: Think Progress
In July, two Republican judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit handed down a decision defunding much of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This effort to implement Sen. Ted Cruzs (R-TX) top policy priority from the bench was withdrawn on Thursday by the DC Circuit, and the case will be reheard by the full court a panel that will most likely include 13 judges. In practical terms, this means that Julys judgment cutting off subsidies to consumers who buy insurance plans in federally-operated health exchanges is no more. It has ceased to be. It is, in fact, an ex-judgment.
The reason why this matters is because the plaintiffs in this lawsuit, known as Halbig v. Burwell, are hustling to try to convince the GOP-dominated Supreme Court to hear this case, where they no doubt believe that they have a greater chance of succeeding than in the DC Circuit, as a majority of the active judges in the DC Circuit are Democrats. The Supreme Court takes only a tiny fraction of the cases brought to their attention by parties who lost in a lower court a study of the Courts 2005 term, for example, found that the justices granted a full argument to only 78 of the 8,517 petitions seeking the high Courts review that term. The justices, however, are particularly likely to hear cases where two federal appeals courts disagree about the same question of law.
Two hours after the divided DC Circuit panel released its opinion attempted to defund Obamacare, a unanimous panel of the Fourth Circuit upheld the health subsidies that are at issue in Halbig. Thus, so long as both decisions remained in effect, Supreme Court review was very likely. Now that the full DC Circuit has vacated the two Republican judges July judgement, Supreme Court review is much less likely.
Although it is possible that the full DC Circuit could agree with the two judges who voted to cut off health subsidies to millions of Americans, this outcome is unlikely. The plaintiffs arguments in this case are weak and are unlikely to move judges who do not have a partisan stake in undermining the Affordable Care Act.
Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/09/04/3477801/breaking-federal-appeals-court-withdraws-decision-defunding-obamacare/
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)Trying to hustle it to the SCC because this time they got something on Roberts to get him to change his vote?
The moral of the story is the DC Circuit Court is the minime of the SCOTUS, remember when the Republicans blocked Obama's appointments and tried to gerrymander the whole court?
This is why winning the Senate is vital.
BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)and to those of our children. We also need to neuter the conservatives on SCOTUS.
So we need to keep the WH in our column until Kennedy and Scalia either keel over in their seats (a la Rehnquist) or retire, and when Justice Bader-Ginsberg decides to retire and is replaced by another Democratic president appointee. This will go a LONG way in stemming the endless frivilous lawsuits paid for by billionaires like the Koch Bros and their ilk in their quest to turn this democracy into a corporatist State.
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)Hard to believe Dems would not be able to figure this out.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)it's just those that play Democrats on anonymous message boards that haven't.
hue
(4,949 posts)Hulk
(6,699 posts)It would be soooo awesome to rid the Congress of this cancer, known as teabaggeritis.
samsingh
(17,598 posts)some more scotus members will be retiring as well
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)And why 2016 is equally important.
cstanleytech
(26,291 posts)because if we keep ignoring those then the republicans will be able to keep their gerrymandered districts.
Jerry442
(1,265 posts)Response to kpete (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)mucifer
(23,545 posts)Because they are scared.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)We're giving tax money to people who then are forced to give it to private corporations. But since they do the same thing with my taxes that go to Xe and Haliburton and GD, the precedent would seem to be in favor of the ACA.
ETA: Transferring tax dollars to corporate profits was one of the main goals of the act, so this will not be repealed.
tridim
(45,358 posts)A law which is currently bringing down costs for the insured.
calimary
(81,267 posts)goes DIRECTLY to your actual medical coverage. No padding some board member's pockets. That percentage is something like 80 or 85% if memory serves. I actually got a $95 check back from my insurance company not long after the ACA took effect.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)No padding of board members' pockets?
their rake is about 20% of the 3 trillion dollar US health care boondoggle, or 500 billion dollars. That's half a trillion that DOESN'T go for health care. Some of it just might go to padding the board's pockets.
Furthermore, you still have to fight your insurance company to get paid, with a few hours on the phone and filing your paperwork 3 times.
The Middleman Multiplication and Profit Protection Act is not healthcare, and never will be.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)Oh yeah ... we "should have single-payer!!!!!"
But we don't ... I suspect it's coming; but it's not here yet.
Unicorns versus Reality.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)I thought that would be clear by now.
Our nominee for 2016 has already said she is against SP, and so has the HHS secretary - you know, "democrats". So if you actually "suspect it's coming", it is you who is seeing unicorns.
Myrina
(12,296 posts)n2doc
(47,953 posts)I won't hold my breath....
oldandhappy
(6,719 posts)I vaguely remember this happening. I appreciate this follow up and hope you/someone will keep letting us know about this. I can't keep up! Thank you again.
maddogesq
(1,245 posts)A funny line from the article:
"It has ceased to be. It is, in fact, an ex-judgment."
Snort!
VWolf
(3,944 posts)We think alike
Am trying to find enough Monty Python online so my grandson can binge. MP is on my list of things where I am actually jealous of people who get to watch/read/see for the first time. (That sentence structure is iffy, but, in all fairness, I just woke up.)
maddogesq
(1,245 posts)Given my attempts at Lion Tamer did not quite work out, I had to come up with something....
It's going to the full DC Circuit, which is expected to side with Obama, and if that happens, it will mesh with what came from the Fourth Circuit, and it won't need to go to the Supreme Court?
TlalocW
Morganfleeman
(117 posts)The government asked for a 30 day extension to respond to the petitioners in the King v. Burwell Supreme Court appeal. The government has until October 3rd to respond and then the petitioners usually have 14 days to respond to the government's response.
The Supreme Court could still elect to hear King v Burwell if it gets into them by October. The D.C. Circuit won't be hearing Halbig v. Burwell till December so at this point the Supreme Court's decision to take the case or not is paramount because if the Supreme Court elects to hear King v Burwell it obviates the need for the D.C. Circuit to rehear Halbig v Burwell.
If SCOTUS elelcts to hear the case I'd put money on King v. Burwell being overruled.
calimary
(81,267 posts)Glad you're here! Well, October isn't that far away anymore. It'll be interesting to watch. But in the meantime, I'm enjoying the mere thought of a GOP effort being rolled back. ANY GOP effort being rolled back is a good thing. Because ANY GOP "effort" is bound to be a bad thing for the vast majority of Americans (those not in the 1%, that is).
The Stranger
(11,297 posts)1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)I came to understand that the reason we give life time appointments to the Federal Judiciary was so that Judges could avoid taking "partisan stakes" in political issues.
I guess I mis-learned.
BillZBubb
(10,650 posts)Since Reagan, the republicans predominately nominate ultra-partisans to the bench.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)Memo Rodriguez
(3 posts)For people who can barely afford the costs.
SummerSnow
(12,608 posts)I hear Rethuglican heads exploding.