Bob Goodlatte on healthcare ruling: ‘Deeply offended’

Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) released this statement following the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in King v. Burwell.  Today’s decision upheld the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) interpretation of provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  Specifically, the Court ruled that section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code, which was enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act, allows the IRS to extend tax-credit subsidies to customers who purchase healthcare on federally-created health insurance exchanges within states that have not set up their own insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act.

Congressman Goodlatte: “I am deeply offended and troubled by today’s decision of the Court to uphold the IRS’s interpretation of provisions of the Affordable Care Act which makes the plain meaning of the law meaningless. Despite the Court’s ruling, I believe the statute is clear on its face – only customers who purchase insurance on exchanges established by a state under section 1311 of the Affordable Care Act are eligible for subsidies.

“Today’s decision keeps in place a system that allows medical decisions to be dictated from Washington through federal government mandates on employers and individuals. This follows upon the 2012 decision of the Court on the issue of the individual mandate that tramples on the freedom of the American people and the Constitution itself. The Court has thrown out the rights’ of the states and the will of the American people with today’s ruling, and has opened the door for the federal government to be the ultimate deciders of what is best for Americans.

“I remain committed to working with Members on both sides of the aisle to repeal Obamacare and take the steps needed to reform our health care system the right way. We must work together to make health care more affordable and more accessible for all Americans.”