House v Burwell

Last week there was much hand-wringing among many (including myself) about the potential fallout if the House Republicans do end up eventually winning House v. Burwell.

Today, Nicholas Bagley, who's been my guide throughout the weird convolutions of this case (the impact would actually more complicated than that of last year's King v. Burwell if the GOP had won that case) clarifies a few points and helps walk folks (including myself) back from the edge:

The HHS and Urban studies rest on the assumption that insurers will eat the costs of eliminating the cost-sharing reductions. As I’ve explained before, though, that’s not a realistic assumption.

Unintended Consequences: In the social sciences, unintended consequences are outcomes that are not the ones foreseen and intended by a purposeful action. The term was popularised in the twentieth century by American sociologist Robert K. Merton.

When United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away Saturday evening, the reaction from Republican Senators and right-wing political pundits was instant and consistent: President Obama shouldn't be allowed to nominate anyone to replace him (even though that's precisely and specifically one of the responsibilities of the current President of the United States is supposed to do), and if he does so, the U.S. Senate will refuse to even allow the nominee a hearing, much less confirm them.

Advertisement