Imagine filing a lawsuit so that the IRS will be forced to
deny you a tax credit that they wanted to give you. A group of Virginia residents did just that.
King v. Burwell is the case, and it’s one of the most significant cases for the Supreme Court this term.
Introduction
The Supreme Court is no stranger to litigation related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly called the ACA or Obamacare).
NFIB v. Sebelius was a landmark 2012 decision in which Chief Justice Roberts shocked many Court-watchers by voting to uphold the constitutionality of the ACA’s individual mandate. In 2014, the Court issued
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, declaring that the ACA’s contraceptive mandate violated for-profit corporations’ free-exercise rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
Both NFIB and Hobby Lobby were decided 5-4. Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito voted to strike aspects of the ACA in both cases; Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan voted to preserve those aspects.
The Supreme Court recently decided to step back into the ACA arena when it granted review in
King v. Burwell. What’s at stake, and can the beleaguered ACA survive another challenge?