Law360 interviewed Manatt's Joel Ario, a managing director with Manatt Health, for an article on how Florida will be affected if the U.S. Supreme Court decides that the Affordable Care Act does not allow tax subsidies for those who bought health insurance on the federal exchange.
As reported by Law360, Floridians could be among those hardest hit, but a fix at the state level is unlikely as Florida legislators focus instead on Medicaid expansion. Democrats are focused on fighting again to expand Medicaid under the ACA, a measure that has failed to gain traction in the past two sessions as the Republican majority has fought it back both times. And the Republicans are in no rush to set up a state exchange.
If the state fails to expand Medicaid and the Supreme Court ends the subsidies on the federal exchange, Gov. Rick Scott could come under pressure to respond, said Ario.
"He's already under enormous pressure on the Medicaid issue from the health care sector," Ario said. "You have a very strong set of players there. Whatever Florida is already suffering from not expanding Medicaid will be much worse by also losing subsidies to the exchange."
Read the article here.