Oklahoma seeks faster health care appeal (UPDATED)

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By Lyle Denniston on Nov 22, 2014 at 8:03 am

UPDATED 11:21 a.m. The Oklahoma petition for review before the appeals court rules is here. The state noted it is willing to have its case, if granted, put on the same briefing schedule as King v. Burwell, and asks for a quick response to its petition if the Court wishes a response. The state would seek argument time, it noted. (Thanks to a helpful reader for sending a copy of the petition.)

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The state of Oklahoma, arguing that the Supreme Court should consider the views of a state government when it rules on the legality of federal tax subsidies to be paid to insurance-buying consumers under the Affordable Care Act, has urged the Court to review that state’s case when it considers the already granted case of King v. Burwell.

 

Following a request by the Obama administration, Oklahoma’s case now at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, while the Justices review the King case. But Oklahoma’s attorney general, Scott Pruitt, is now seeking to bypass the appeals court with a new petition. The petition itself is not yet available, but it has been docketed by the Supreme Court.

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U.S. opposes Oklahoma plea on health care (UPDATED)

 

Lyle Denniston Posted Mon, December 29th, 2014 5:58 pm

 

UPDATED Tuesday 11:58 a.m. The state of Oklahoma and five other states where the federal government operates insurance marketplaces have filed a brief in the granted case of King v. Burwell, supporting the challenge to tax credits for those shopping at the federal exchanges. The amicus brief, arguing from the perspective of state governments, is here.

 

The Obama administration, arguing that the Supreme Court should keep the new health care case in its present form, has resisted Oklahoma’s plea to join the case already before the Court on the merits with that state’s separate appeal. U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., contended that linking the two would only add complicating issues regarding the Court’s jurisdiction. The government brief, filed last Monday, is now available here.

 

The Court has already agreed to hear the case of King v. Burwell, testing whether lower-income individuals can get federal subsidies to help them afford health insurance in the thirty-four states where an Affordable Care Act insurance marketplace is run by the federal, rather than a state, government. The King case, filed by Virginia residents opposed to the subsidy scheme, is set for oral argument on March 4.

 

Oklahoma has filed its own petition, asking the Court to grant review of the separate case of Oklahoma v Burwell http://www.scotusblog.com/2014/12/u-s-opposes-oklahoma-plea-on-health-care/