It will be up to state officials and Congress to help consumers who can鈥檛 afford health insurance if the Supreme Court strikes down health law subsidies for millions of Americans, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said Wednesday.
鈥淭he critical decisions will sit with the Congress and states and governors to determine if those subsidies are available,鈥� Burwell told the House Ways and Means Committee.听 The secretary earlier this year that the administration has no authority to undo 鈥渕assive damage鈥� that would come if the court invalidates the subsidies in the online marketplaces, or exchanges, which the federal government operates in about three dozen states.
By the end of this month, the court is expected to issue a ruling in the case, .听 could lose those payments and many more residents could see their premiums increase because of the havoc the loss of subsidies would cause in the market.
The challengers argue that one clause in the law says those federal payments would be available to consumers only in states that run their own exchanges. But the administration has argued the legislative intent was to make subsidies available to customers in every state, regardless of how its exchange was established.
During Wednesday鈥檚 hearing, Republicans pressed Burwell to indicate what type of legislation President Barack Obama might sign to restore subsidies if the court rules for the challengers. Many Republican lawmakers have acknowledged that they would like to find a way to offer a temporary option to help consumers, but they have failed to coalesce around a specific proposal.
Burwell said while the administration would be open to considering alternatives that make health care more affordable and accessible, the president would not sign from Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. That bill would maintain the subsidies for current beneficiaries through August 2017 but repeal the health law鈥檚 requirements that most individuals get coverage, that larger businesses offer insurance to their workers or pay a penalty and that plans provide specific types of benefits.
鈥淪omething that repeals the Affordable Care Act is not something the president will sign,鈥� Burwell said.
A recent from the American Academy of Actuaries said some changes favored by Johnson and other Republicans, such as eliminating the individual mandate, 鈥渃ould threaten the viability鈥� of the health insurance market for individual plans.
Echoing , Burwell said the administration will 聽to help mitigate the consequences for consumers if the Supreme Court ruled against federal subsidies.
The session was billed as a hearing on the HHS budget fiscal 2016 request, but it quickly veered to Republican attacks on the sweeping 2010 health law while Democrats rushed to defend it.
鈥淲hatever the Supreme Court decides this month, I think the lesson is clear: Obamacare is busted. It just doesn鈥檛 work. And no quick fix can change this fact,鈥� said Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis. 鈥淚ts very linchpin鈥攊ts central principle鈥攊s government control. That means higher prices, fewer choices, and lower quality.鈥�
Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, the panel鈥檚 ranking Democrat, replied in kind. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 busted,鈥� he said, 鈥渋s not the ACA but聽 [Republican] attacks on it. Endless attacks. Never coming up with a single comprehensive alternative all these years. So you sit as armchair critics while millions of people have insurance who never had it before. You鈥檙e livid because it鈥檚 getting better.鈥�