Only last week, we informed you of the Supreme Court's somewhat surprising grant of cert. in the Fourth Circuit case of King v. Burwell, in which the court of appeals had upheld the government's view that the Affordable Care Act makes federal premium tax credits available to taxpayers in all states, even where the federal government, not the state, has set up an exchange.
The Administration has taken something of a PR buffeting in the week following, after its principal ACA technical advisor's comments on this issue were made public.
In any event, we suggested that the scheduled DC Circuit en banc argument in Halbig v. Burwell, which raises the same issue as the King case, would never take place. We were correct. The DC Circuit yesterday stayed action in its case pending Supreme Court resolution of King. We'll continue to follow related developments.
Speaking of the DC Circuit, a panel of its most liberal judges today upheld religious organization accommodation for contraceptive coverage under the ACA, holding under Hobby Lobby that opt-out procedure does not substantially burden employer's religious beliefs. Priests for Life v. U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Services. There will be similar cases brought in other federal circuits, and we'll report on those as well.
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