In light of King v. Burwell, Paul Ryan and key Republicans unveil an alternative plan to ObamaCare
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in King v. Burwell and decide if it is legal to distribute tax subsidies to middle- and low-income Americans who bought health insurance through the federal exchange. If the judges rule against the administration it could finally mean the unraveling of ObamaCare, a GOP goal five years in the making.
One key note missing from the chorus of Republican critics has been an alternative to the Affordable Care Act. But on Monday, Republicans Paul Ryan, John Kline, and Fred Upton laid out a contingency plan, something they are calling an "off-ramp from ObamaCare," in an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal. The Ryan-Kline-Upton plan would liberalize insurance markets and offer tax credits to help the uninsured purchase health insurance. States would be able to opt out of ObamaCare's insurance mandates, "allowing Americans to purchase the coverage they want," they write.
"So here's the bottom line: Under ObamaCare, government controls your choices. Under our proposal, you will." [The Wall Street Journal]
The Ryan-Kline-Upton plan is a significant step forward, writes Avik Roy in Forbes. "It firmly takes the side of using advanceable, refundable tax credits to help the uninsured buy health insurance," he says.
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Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.
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