Tax credit litigation on the move

For those of you who thought we could forget about ongoing ACA litigation, here's a little update: the issue of premium assistance through tax credits for insurance purchased in federal exchanges is alive and well.  The plaintiffs in the recently filed Halbig v. Sebelius claim that the ACA does not permit tax credits in federally run exchanges (opponents state that this is merely a statutory oversight, as I wrote in September.)  A nice summary of the ongoing litigation on this issue was published yesterday on California Health Line. 

These challenges seem to reveal the angst that the ACA is producing as the January 1, 2014 deadline creeps nearer.  They also seem to reveal the upside-down federalism occuring in the states that have rejected the state-based exchanges.  Those states have exercised their sovereign prerogative, but they are also inviting more federal power into the state, which aggrandizes federal power.  Though I don't think these cases have a strong chance of success, if the plaintiffs are successful, undoubtedly we'll see more testing of the fence by states and private litigants.

[NH]