US Supreme Court rejects Oklahoma health law challenge

US Supreme Court rejects Oklahoma health law challenge

January 26, 2015

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Oklahoma's request to join a challenge to the federal health care law.

In a one-sentence order on Monday, the nation's high court denied Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt's writ of certiorari.

Pruitt wanted the court to review Oklahoma's lawsuit that challenges the tax subsidies offered under the Affordable Care Act, arguing it was important to consider state sovereignty implications.

Pruitt maintains the tax subsidies do not apply to states like Oklahoma that chose not to create a state exchange. A federal judge ruled in favor of Oklahoma's lawsuit, and an appeal is pending in circuit court.

The U.S. Supreme Court already has agreed to review a nearly identical case out of Virginia.

Pruitt's office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

http://www.chron.com/news/article/US...aw-6040792.php

Ohio sues over Obamacare taxes on state, local governments

http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editor...b5cec5193.jpeg 20 minutes ago

(Reuters) - The state of Ohio filed a lawsuit on Monday that claims Obamacare tax assessments against state and local governments for public employee health plans are unconstitutional.

The suit by Attorney General Mike DeWine involves the federal government's power under the Affordable Care Act's Transitional Reinsurance Program to levy taxes against health insurance companies and certain employers who offer self-insured group health plans.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has said it is assessing this tax on state and local governments for their public employee health plans, DeWine's office said. DeWine said this would destroy the balance of authority between the federal government and the states.

"This action simply protects a tradition as old as our republic that governments do not tax each other," DeWine, a Republican, said in a statement about the lawsuit.

The assessment costs Ohio $5.3 million, money that could be used for education, roads and other local needs, the statement said. The state wants a refund, said Dan Tierney, a spokesman for the attorney general.

Tierney said the ACA does not include state and local governments as entities that can be taxed under the reinsurance program.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in the Southern District of Ohio, and plaintiffs include Warren County, the University of Akron and three other state universities.

An HHS representative could not comment on the pending litigation. The reinsurance program helps keep premiums affordable from year to year, according to HHS.

Republicans in Congress, some state governments and others have challenged in court all or part of the Affordable Care Act since it became law in 2010.

Last week, leading Republican senators introduced a bill to repeal one of Obamacare's most unpopular provisions: the individual mandate that requires most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty.

The mandate survived a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court challenge seeking to overturn it on constitutional grounds.

http://news.yahoo.com/ohio-sues-over...181949498.html