Obama health law faces legal challenge

Most recipients unaware of looming court case.

WASHINGTON — Thousands of people signing up for health insurance this weekend may not realize it, but their coverage under President Barack Obama’s law could be short-lived.

The 2015 enrollment season, which ends Sunday, has avoided last year’s website meltdown. But a Supreme Court case could result in millions of consumers losing financial assistance for their premiums later in the year.

“This would be devastating,” said Nita Carter, who oversees statewide enrollment efforts for UHCAN Ohio, a health care advocacy group. “Without the subsidy, health insurance will be unafford- able for many. If it is unaffordable, then it is not accessible.”

The Supreme Court case, King v. Burwell, is the talk of Washington policy experts. But a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that more than half of Americans have heard “nothing at all” about it and another 30 percent “only a little.”

The health care law offers subsidized private coverage to people who don’t have access to it on the job. However, “Obamacare” opponents who brought the lawsuit argue that the law’s literal wording allows the federal government to pay those subsidies only in states that have set up their own insurance markets, or exchanges. Most haven’t.

The administration and Democratic lawmakers who wrote the law say Congress’ clear intent was to provide subsidies to people in every state.

No one knows how the court will rule. But if the plaintiffs succeed, beneficiaries living in the 37 states where the federal government is running the markets will lose their subsidies.

Two independent estimates say about 8 million people would drop coverage in a chain reaction that would also send premiums soaring for self-pay customers buying individual policies outside the exchanges. Self-pay and subsidized consumers are in the same insurance pool. Without the subsidies, the healthiest might bail out.

After renewing his coverage this week in Austin, Texas, oil worker Nassir Al Sawafi was unaware that the health care law was facing another major challenge. More than 800,000 people have subsidized coverage in Texas, where the federal government runs the exchange because former GOP Gov. Rick Perry refused to.