Paul Ryan (R-WI) and House Republicans have unveiled the plan they will pursue if the Supreme Court rules unfavorably in King v. Burwell.
This isn't so much a backup plan as it is a plan to hasten the demise of Obamacare and give states the opportunity they need to destroy themselves.
The plan, presented Wednesday by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), would give block grants to states that want them, according to lawmakers who attended a briefing. States would get to choose how to spend the money to cover people in their state. [...]
“It block-grants the money to states that opt in to our state program, and then they can set up their own exchange; they can give tax credits; they can set up health savings accounts; they can do whatever they want,” said Rep. John Fleming (R-La.).
Without mincing words, I'll say this is a fucking preposterous and ridiculous idea.
I was under the impression that Republican lawmakers hate overly complicated, inefficient government, but what they're proposing would hopelessly complicate the situation by creating a hodgepodge of wildly different healthcare systems.
I suspect most states that could be harmed by a bad Supreme Court decision would decide not to participate in Paul Ryan's latest block grant fetish, instead choosing to rely on the current federal system, but not all of them would.
As we've pointed out before, the states that would be hurt the most if the Supreme Court rules against the federal government are anti-Obamacare states controlled by conservative legislatures and governors. These legislatures may be interested in self-mutilation.
I can think of no conceivable scenario in which the president would sign this into law.