I was gone last week when twenty states filed yet another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. But no matter. This case isn’t going anywhere—or at least it shouldn’t go anywhere. In their complaint, the states point out (rightly) that the Supreme Court upheld the ACA in NFIB v. Sebelius only because […]
I’ve got a new piece at Vox digging into Idaho’s decision to flout the Affordable Care Act. If you want to learn something about Idaho administrative law (I know, I know, pure clickbait) this is the place to look. I also examine the analogy between what Idaho’s doing and marijuana legalization. The upshot is that […]
That’s the title of a new piece of mine that came out in JAMA this morning. It’s pretty timely: a lawsuit was filed last week challenging CMS’s approval of Kentucky’s waiver, which includes work requirements. More waivers, and more litigation, are sure to come. I’m no fan of work requirements. They’re harsh, stigmatizing, and ineffective. And they will hurt people, […]
I’m proud to announce that Michigan will be hosting the third annual Administrative Law New Scholarship Roundtable in June. The first two roundtables were outstanding, and I have high hopes for this year’s event. The Roundtable is an excellent opportunity for young admin law scholars to get low-pressure feedback on their work from senior scholars in the field. From […]
That’s the title of a new book by Lisa Manheim and Kathryn Watts. From the press release: The book emerged from a class Watts and a colleague put together — at the request of students — within weeks of Trump’s election. The feedback they received, along with news coverage of the class, helped to confirm […]
A few months back, I flagged an opinion from a D.C. district court holding that a new EEOC rule governing wellness programs was arbitrary and capricious. The rule allowed employers to impose huge penalties on employees who refused to participate in wellness programs, even though the Americans with Disabilities Act says those programs must be […]
Murray-Alexander is going nowhere. Senator Collins insists that passing the bipartisan legislation, which would restore cost-sharing payments for two years, is a condition of her vote on the pending tax bill. But she appears willing to accept airy promises that Senate leadership will make the bill a priority. Never mind that House Republicans have no […]
On Friday afternoon, a district court in Pennsylvania enjoined the Trump administration’s new rules on contraception coverage from taking effect. The court’s ruling was not unexpected: I’d argued earlier that the rules were vulnerable on both procedural and substantive grounds, and the court’s analysis largely tracks my own. Procedurally, the Trump administration had no good […]
That’s the headline of my latest piece at Vox. Adopting mandates at the state level would help stabilize insurance markets, thereby keeping premiums in check and forestalling coverage losses. It would also provide a welcome source of revenue: Some people will still prefer to pay a penalty than buy insurance. Plus, the states don’t need […]
“Republicans want to pay for a permanent corporate tax by taking insurance from millions of people. Is that who we are as a nation?” That’s the end of my latest op-ed in the Washington Post. Here’s the beginning. To finesse the tricky politics and brutal math of tax reform, Senate Republicans now say that they want to […]
On Friday, HHS released a proposed rule that would make a number of adjustments to the rules governing insurance exchanges for 2019. The rule is long and detailed; there’s a lot to digest. Among the most noteworthy changes, however, are those relating to the essential health benefits. They’re significant, and I’m not convinced they’re legal. […]
Yesterday, a group of 19 states asked a California district court to stop the Trump administration from cutting off the cost-sharing payments. To prevail, the states will have to convince the court that they face irreparable injury if the payments are terminated and that they’ve got a substantial likelihood of eventually winning their lawsuit. To […]
In broad strokes, the bipartisan deal from Senators Alexander and Murray would restore cost-sharing payments through 2019 in exchange for some amendments to the rules governing ACA waivers. Now that we have the bill text, we can start to wrap our hands around the practical effects of those waiver changes. Most importantly, the bill would […]
That’s the headline for an op-ed of mine that ran this weekend in the Los Angeles Times. Back in 2013, the Obama administration asked Congress to appropriate the money for the cost-sharing payments. The Republican-controlled Congress refused. Concerned for the fate of its healthcare bill, the Obama administration then adopted a dubious legal theory that allowed […]
Politico just broke the news that the Trump administration will terminate the Affordable Care Act’s cost-sharing payments, further destabilizing the already-fragile exchanges on the eve of open enrollment. Although state regulators and insurers have taken steps to protect themselves (see this great explainer from David Anderson, Charles Gaba, Louise Norris, and Andrew Sprung), the abrupt […]