It goes without saying that this is more of a moral victory than anything else. Even before Scalia's death, the Supreme Court had demonstrated quite clearly that it would not take it upon itself to stop ObamaCare. So any hope of using lawsuits to stop Obama's illegal program was shaky even before this. But the lawsuits themselves do continue to cast doubt on the legitimacy and credibility of ObamaCare.
And while it's easy to write off such a strategy, it makes insurers uncertain. And this is crucial here since this affects the insurers.
A federal judge on Thursday ruled the Obama administration has been improperly funding an Obamacare subsidy program, a huge win for the House of Representatives’ lawsuit against the White House.
Congress authorized the program but never actually provided the money for it, wrote U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary M. Collyer. The program will be allowed to continue, pending appeal.
So again, a moral victory.
A federal judge dealt President Obama and his health care law a major blow Thursday, ruling in favor of House Republicans who said the administration was unlawfully paying insurers without permission from Congress.
The order by U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer, presiding in Washington, says the administration should stop doling out the Affordable Care Act’s “cost-sharing” payments to insurers until Capitol Hill appropriates the money.
However, she stayed that order pending a likely appeal by the administration.
But insurers are already looking for the exit. And Obama has been struggling to keep them on board.
UnitedHealthcare, the biggest health insurer in the United States, said Tuesday that it plans to exit most of the Affordable Care Act state exchanges where it currently operates by 2017.
The health insurer had already indicated that it was dropping coverage of the plans, more commonly known as Obamacare, in Arkansas, Georgia and Michigan.
So the constant pressure helps keep ObamaCare unstable and prevents it from being accepted as the "law of the land".