Supreme Doubt

From USA Today:
"AP-GfK Poll: Doubts on court's fairness in health law case"

Many people in the United States doubt that the Supreme Court can rule fairly in the latest litigation jeopardizing President Barack Obama's health care law The Associated Press-GfK poll finds only 1 person in 10 is highly confident that the justices will rely on objective interpretations of the law rather than their personal opinions. Nearly half, 48 percent, are not confident of the court's impartiality. "That lawsuit should have never made it this far," said Hal Lewis, a retiree from Scranton, Pennsylvania. "If they rule for the people who are bringing the suit, it could be close to the destruction of Obamacare in this country," added Lewis, who once edited a local newspaper in his city. Lewis is one of the relatively few people — 13 percent — who say they are closely following the case, called King v. Burwell. Opponents of the law argue that as literally written, it only allows the federal government to subsidize premiums in states that have set up their own insurance markets, also known as exchanges. Most states have not done so, relying instead on the federal HealthCare.gov website. The Obama administration says opponents are misreading the Affordable Care Act by focusing on just a few words. When the legislation is read in context, it's clear that lawmakers wanted to help uninsured people in every state, the administration maintains. If the court sides with the plaintiffs, it's estimated that 8 million to 9 million people across more than 30 states could lose coverage. They would be unable to afford their premiums without the subsidies, which are keyed to household income. A decision is expected late in June. In a twist, the poll found that opponents of the law, who tend to be politically conservative, have less confidence in the objectivity of a court with a conservative majority. Among foes, 60 percent are not confident, compared with 44 percent of the law's supporters. "That is incredibly powerful that a court associated with conservative views is not well trusted by Republicans," said Robert Blendon, who tracks public opinion on health care at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Blendon said the law's opponents may be remembering the court's 2012 ruling in which Chief Justice John Roberts cast the key vote to uphold the law. It's less clear what people would want Congress to do if the court were to side with the law's opponents. A ruling for the plaintiffs would invalidate health insurance subsidies in states without their own exchanges. Many of those states have Republican governors and legislatures that have resisted the health care law. Ethan Levesque of Augusta, Maine, said he is troubled by the federal law's requirement that virtually all U.S. residents get health insurance or risk fines from the IRS. "I feel like it should actually be the determination of the states to decide health coverage," said  The poll found 27 percent of Americans support the law, while 38 percent oppose it and 34 percent say they neither support nor oppose it.

^ It will be interesting to see what that Supreme Court decides. Whatever they decide one thing is clear - Obama's legacy will be one of an already crumbling health care system pushed to the extreme with millions more people added to it. Usually rats flee a sinking ship, but Obama is forcing "rats" into the sinking health care system. The only good thing is that in around 8 months he will no longer be in office and whomever takes his place will hopefully start fixing all the mistakes (in health care and other domestic as well as foreign policy issues) he created or prolonged. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/ap-gfk-poll-doubts-courts-fairness-health-law-073423152--politics.html