Justices push back on states' Medicaid case

Justices push back on states' Medicaid case

Transcripts from today's SCOTUS ObamaCare hearings were interesting.

One major point was Medicaid and how it does/will affect the State programs.
(and budgets !)

Chief Justice John Roberts has questioned the possibilities of the
Federal Department of Health and Human Services becoming a
"Strong-Arm authority" over the States.

The states have been accepting federal Medicaid money with strings attached for years, Roberts said, so “they shouldn’t be surprised that the federal government has decided to pull them.”

But Roberts also sounded worried about the precedent the law might set, asking why the justices shouldn’t be concerned that HHS would use its power to force states to implement more Medicaid expansions.

“Why shouldn't we be concerned about the extent” that HHS would use its authority to strong-arm the states, Roberts asked Solicitor General Donald Verrilli...

and Justice Elena Kagan:

Justice Elena Kagan pounded Paul Clement, the attorney for the states, with questions about whether the Medicaid expansion is really an unreasonable demand for the states — especially when the federal government will pick up all of the costs in the early years and most of the costs in the later years.

“Why is a big gift from the federal government a matter of coercion?” Kagan asked. “It’s just a boatload of federal money [to help] poor people.”

Justice Antonin Scalia, however, signaled doubts when he asked Verrilli what would prevent the federal government from making similar demands to expand states’ education programs.

When Verrilli responded that political constraints would prevent that from happening, Scalia responded: “I would have thought there was a serious political constraint on the individual mandate, too.”

Article at Politico


The "problem" with unelected, appointed "officials" (like within HHS)

is that they could easily become a "dictatorial division" of any current White House.

The States' Medicaid programs could become a revenue nightmare !!


Medicaid seems to be an Issue !


Day 3 Transcript