Dive Brief:
- For now, the Supreme Court has chosen not to hear King v. Burwell, the case that would decide whether or not enrollees in the 36 states taking part in the federal insurance exchange are eligible for premium subsidies. The case was not amongst the those listed for hearing on Monday morning.
- This does not mean that the court will not hear the case at a later date, but instead likely means that they have decided to "re-list" it, or defer their decision to a later date.
- The court may release a statement today revealing their decision to either not hear it or to re-list it.
Dive Insight:
The case came to the Supreme Court via the 4th Circuit of Appeals in Virginia, which ruled that the intent of disputed language in the Affordable Care Act legislation was to provide enrollees on both state and federal exchanges with subsidies.
As to the likelihood that the Supreme Court will hear the case at a later date, it remains to be seen. The court typically takes cases that are split decisions, which this one is currently not. On the same day the Virginia court issued the King v. Burwell ruling, a US Circuit Court in the District of Columbia ruled in a split decision in Halbig v. Burwell that the law clearly stated subsidies were only allowed in states that had established their own exchanges—the opposite decision. The Halbig decision was vacated in September, however, and the case is set to be heard by the court in mid-December.
"At this time there is only one decision and it is unanimously upheld," said Timothy Jost, Robert L. Willett Family Professor of Law at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.
The Supreme Court will likely wait until the outcome of that case is clear before deciding whether or not to hear King v. Burwell.