Commentary: Don’t save unauthorized subsidies

The upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act exchanges has already unleashed a torrent of speculation and opinion.

Rep. Jason Spencer

A week ago, Georgia State University law professor Erin C. Fuse Brown argued in a Commentary that the court should preserve the insurance subsidies for consumers in states such as Georgia that let the federal government run their exchanges.

Now, in a rebuttal Commentary, state Rep. Jason Spencer (R-Woodbine) says the subsidies for federally run exchanges violate the ACA and should be thrown out by the court.

Spencer, while a staunch opponent of the health law, says its language on subsidies is clear and binding. “Congress stipulated in the ACA that federal tax subsidies would be limited to individuals who purchased health insurance through an ‘[e]xchange established by the State,’ ’’ he writes. “There is no more ambiguity in the word ‘State’ than there is in the meaning of the word ‘is.’ ”

Here’s a link to Spencer’s Commentary.

Georgia Health News welcomes Commentary submissions. If you would like to propose a Commentary piece for Georgia Health News, please email Andy Miller, editor of GHN, at amiller@georgiahealthnews.com