Supreme Court Rules That a Typo Should Not Undo Obamacare

4 minute read

In the end, an apparent legislative typo did not bring down Obamacare.

President Obama’s signature health care law survived a second challenge at the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday, with the Justices ruling by a margin of 6 to 3 that the intent of Congress was clear enough to override contradictory language in law itself.

The decision was a major win for Democrats and the President, who would have faced the difficult task of negotiating a fix to the law with Republicans had the court decided that a specific clause in the law invalidated tax subsidies for millions of Americans. That negotiation could have resulted in either a collapse of the health insurance reforms in a majority of states, or a significant paring back of their reach.

At issue was a clause in the law that stated that federal tax subsidies for health insurance purchases were only available in insurance marketplaces, known as exchanges, that had been set up by states. The court had been asked to decide whether the plain meaning of that clause invalidated subsidies for the 34 states, and about 6.4 million Americans, who received subsidies after buying healthcare through an insurance marketplace operated by the federal government. Democrats argued that the clause was little more than a typo made in the rush to enact the law.

The court ruled that the full context of the law made clear that Congress had not intended to bar subsidies for insurance purchased on the federal exchanges. “It is implausible that Congress meant the Act to operate” as challengers of the law had argued, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his decision.

“The tax credits are among the Act’s key reforms, involving billions of dollars in spending each year and affecting the price of health insurance for millions of people,” Roberts continued. “Whether those credits are available on Federal Exchanges is thus a questions of deep ‘economic and political significance’ that is central to this statutory scheme; had Congress wished to assign that question to an agency, it surely would done so expressly.”

In an aside, the Chief Justice chided Congress for sloppiness in writing the law. “The Affordable Care Act … contains more than a few examples of inartful drafting,” Roberts wrote.

The three most conservative Justices on the court, Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, wrote a bristling dissent to Roberts, suggesting that the court majority could not read the plain language before them. “You would think the answer would be obvious—so obvious there would hardly be a need for the Supreme Court to hear a case about it,” Scalia wrote.

They argued that by deciding to give more weight to the context of the entire law than the plain language of a specific section, the Supreme Court was effectively rewriting the law. “Our only evidence of what Congress meant comes from the terms of the law, and those terms show beyond all question that tax credits are available only on state exchanges,” Scalia wrote, citing the specific passage. “More importantly, the Court forgets that ours is a government of laws and not of men. That means we are governed by the terms of our laws, not by the unenacted will of our lawmakers.”

Scalia also added a rhetorical flourish to his dissent typical of his more animated opinions. Using an acronym for the Supreme Court of the United States, he suggested taking the President’s name out of the common vernacular for his signature law. “We should start calling this law SCOTUScare,” Scalia wrote.

But such jibes were not enough to sway a strong majority of the court. “In a democracy, the power to make law rests with those chosen by the people,” Roberts concluded in his opinion. “Our role is more confined—’to say what the law is.’ That is easier in some cases than in others. But in every case we must respect the role of the Legislature, and take care not to undo what it has done. ”

Photos: Every National Monument President Obama Has Declared

The Organ Mountain Desert Peaks National Monument, near Las Cruces, N.M.
The Organ Mountain Desert Peaks National Monument (New Mexico): The 496,000 acre land near Las Cruces, N.M. holds rich scientific and historical value. The land was a training site for the Apollo Space Mission and World War II aerial targets, as well as a heritage site containing early pictographs from Native Americans Les McKee—AP
SAN JUAN ISLANDS
The San Juan Islands National Monument (Washington): A chain of 450 islands located in Washington State's Puget Sound, the monument offers visitors the chance to experience the natural beauty of the undeveloped, rugged landscape.Craig Hill—MCT/Getty Images
New Mexico Scenics
The Río Grande del Norte National Monument (New Mexico): Located northwest of Taos, the Río Grande del Norte contains stretches of the Río Grande Gorge and is known for its spectacular landscapes, recreational opportunities, and for serving as an important habitat for many birds and wildlife.Robert Alexander—Getty Images
Harriet Tubman
The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument (Maryland): A new national park, located on Maryland's Eastern Shore, commemorates the life of the most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad. MPI/Getty Images
Brandywine creek, Delaware
The First State National Monument (Delaware): This new monument will tell the story of the early Dutch, Swedish, Finnish and English settlement of the colony of Delaware, as well as Delaware's role as the first state to ratify the Constitution. Shown above: Mill buildings standing along Brandywine creek north of Wilmington, Del.Walker Evans—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image
Buffalo Soldier
The Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument (Wilberforce, Ohio): The home of Col. Charles Young, a distinguished officer in the United States Army who was the third African American to graduate from West Point and the first to achieve the rank of colonel.MPI/Getty Images
Cesar Chavez
Cesar E. Chavez National Monument (California): The home of the famous civil rights activist and labor leader, known as La Paz, spans 116 acres in Kern County, Calif. The property was also the former headquarters of the United Farm Workers. Arthur Schatz—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Chimney Rock Colorado
Chimney Rock National Monument (Colorado): Located in the San Juan National Forest in southwestern Colorado, the monument encompasses 4,726 acres and an archaeological site. The site is the ancestral home of the Pueblo Indians.Hyoung Chang—Denver Post/Getty Images
Fort Ord National Monument
Fort Ord National Monument (California): Fort Ord served as an army post from 1971 to 1994. It was one of the most desirable posting locations because of the scenic views and proximity to beaches. Fort Ord is now a beautiful recreational area with unique landscape features that everyone can enjoy. Vern Fisher—AP
FORT MONROE PARK
Fort Monroe National Monument (Virginia): Fort Monroe is a former U.S. military base, but its history goes back much further. The land was integral to the original Jamestown colony settlers and was set up as a key defense point under John Smith, Christopher Newport, and the Virginia Company in the early 1600s. Stephen M. Katz—AP
Prehistoric Trackways New Mexico
Prehistoric Trackways National Monument (New Mexico): Prehistoric Trackways is the 100th U.S. National Monument and the first designated by Barack Obama. Located in the Robledos Mountains of southern New Mexico, the monument site includes a vast array of fossilized footprints, plants, and petrified wood from the Paleozoic Era. AP

 

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