The Courts

Senate GOP leaders are asking HHS and IRS to inform all federal exchange enrollees and visitors to healthcare.gov that their ACA subsidies could be taken away if the Supreme Court rules against the administration in King v. Burwell.

Outgoing House Energy and Commerce Ranking Democrat Henry Waxman (CA) on Tuesday (Dec. 16) released a report finding breaking down the state-by-state impact if the administration ends up losing the high-profile Supreme Court case King v. Burwell that will determine whether the IRS overstepped in saying ACA subsidies are available for health insurance bought through the federal exchange.

ACA supporters hope the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit will quickly grant the Obama administration's upcoming request for an “en banc” review of Tuesday's Halbig v. Burwell decision that, if ultimately upheld, would deal a significant blow to the health law's promise of providing affordable health insurance, though attorneys note en banc petitions are rarely accepted.

HHS in the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court's contraceptive coverage decision should extend the “accommodation” it granted for religious non-profit organizations to for-profit companies because it's the only realistic short-term solution to mitigate the ruling's consequences, the head of consumer group National Health Law Program tells Inside Health Policy.

A Supreme Court ruling last week, when taken in concert with a string of recent high court patent decisions, has put personalized medicine between "a rock and a hard place," one patent attorney said.

The Solicitor General's position in the case POM Wonderful LLC v. The Coca-Cola Company received some pushback from Supreme Court justices during oral arguments last week, with justices asking why the two statutes involved, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and Lanham Act, could not be complementary.

In a move that one lobbyist says should not be a surprise, the American Hospital Association is challenging HHS over the controversial two-midnights inpatient admission policy, arguing in two related lawsuits filed Monday (April 14) that the rule burdens hospitals with unlawful, arbitrary standards and deprives hospitals of proper Medicare payment for caring for patients.

Several Supreme Court justices raised concerns Tuesday (March 25) that a range of crucial medical services -- such as vaccines and blood transfusions -- might also be denied to employees based on their employers' religious views if the court rules that for-profit corporations do not have to comply with the ACA’s controversial contraception coverage requirement based on religious objection.

The American Hospital Association, several state hospital associations and four hospital systems on Wednesday (Jan. 22) took the first steps toward challenging CMS’ two-midnights inpatient admissions policy, according to AHA News.