The Koch Brothers, the right-wing brothers who have poured billions of dollars into electing GOP politicians, are ready to play hardball against the Affordable Care Act if the Supreme Court rules against the federal distribution of health care subsidies.
The imminent Supreme Court decision King v. Burwell will decide whether those covered under Obamacare’s federally run exchanges will continue to receive subsidies to help them buy insurance plans, or whether millions of people registered in 34 largely Republican-backed states will find themselves unable to afford their health care.
If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the plaintiffs in King v. Burwell, the majority of states will be left scrambling to build their own exchanges if they want to preserve their residents’ access to subsidies. However, Koch-funded special interest group Americans for Prosperity, which self-identifies as “the nation’s foremost advocate for health care freedom,” is ready to pressure Republican lawmakers to stay away from the creation of state-level exchanges.
“The President’s healthcare law is a disaster that has left a trail of broken promises throughout its history, which explains why 37 states have chosen NOT to participate in his planned healthcare exchanges,” said Americans for Prosperity in a press release earlier this month. “We urge the President to take off his rose colored glasses and have a realistic look at the havoc Obamacare is causing, and the negative impact his signature law is having on so many American families.”
Americans for Prosperity has been a longtime outspoken critic of the Affordable Care Act, plugging 35 million into fighting against the ACA as of 2014 and releasing four state-specific, anti-Obamacare television ads targeting voters in Colorado, New Hampshire, Michigan, and Louisiana. The group is known for promoting its right-wing ideals through deep-pocketed contributions from David and Charles Koch, who hold a cumulative $83.6 billion net worth.
The closely watched King v. Burwell case questions the legality of distributing tax subsides through Obamacare’s federally operated exchange, better known as healthcare.gov, which became the default for states that refused to create their own state-run insurance marketplaces. According to the plaintiffs, the health law states that tax subsidies are available only in exchanges “established by the state,” while the federal government argues the financial assistance was always intended for both types of marketplaces.
“The politically motivated lawsuit before the Supreme Court today is yet another attempt to unravel the Affordable Care Act, strip millions of American families of their health coverage, and throw insurance markets into turmoil,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in a recent press release. “With this case, Republicans intend to take affordable health coverage away from millions of hard working Americans — hoping to achieve through the courts what they cannot do even with majorities in both houses of Congress.” According to the RAND Corporation, the removal of subsidies from the federal exchange would result in a 70 percent plunge in the ACA-compliant market and unsubsidized healthcare premiums would see a 47 percent spike. Many in the health care sector worry that this exclusion of subsidies combined with premium increases could trigger significant instability in the insurance market, and, even more troublingly, the greater economic system, as the health industry accounts for over 17 percent of the nation’s GDP.
However, Levi Russell, an Americans for Prosperity spokesman, told the New York Times that he doesn’t believe a court decision striking down subsidies would be that catastrophic, arguing “it’s off base to say there will be panic and rioting in the streets.”
That’s a message the group will likely take to Republican politicians in key states whose constituents risk losing their access to affordable insurance. According to the New York Times, Americans for Prosperity is expected to focus its energy on lawmakers in conservative states, including Tennessee and Florida, where the group has successfully convinced legislators to move away from Medicaid expansion and Affordable Care Act-backed funding in the past. And, as the Washington Post reports, a different Koch-backed group, the Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, has already started pressuring GOP presidential candidates to take a stance on whether or not they would support a contingency plan if subsidies are stuck down.
SCOTUS is expected to release the fate of the ACA’s subsidies any day now. In the meantime, Koch Brothers-backed organizations are also keeping themselves busy promoting other agenda items including “fighting burdensome EPA regulations,” supporting the Keystone XL Pipeline, and providing $900 million to the GOP presidential race.
Katelyn Harrop is an intern with ThinkProgress.