Obama warns SCOTUS that Medicare payments might stop if Obamacare is overturned

The Obama Administration has filed papers with the Supreme Court warning them that Medicare payments are in danger of “freezing up” if Obamacare is overturned.

How low can this President sink? He knows full well that if Obamacare is upheld, Medicare will be gutted to the tune of at least $500 billion. So his signature “achievement” actually accelerates Medicare’s path to bankruptcy. There’s simply no question about it. For Obama to arbitrarily threaten to withhold Medicare payments unless the Supreme Court justices grant him a favorable ruling is despicable – especially since Obamacare’s impact on Medicare has nothing to do with the law’s constitutional merits, or lack thereof.

WASHINGTON — Medicare’s payment system, the unseen but vital network that handles 100 million monthly claims, could freeze if President Barack Obama’s health care law is summarily overturned, the administration quietly informed the courts.

Although Obama’s overhaul made significant cuts to providers and improved prescription and preventive benefits, Medicare was overlooked in Supreme Court arguments that focused on the law’s controversial requirement that all individuals carry health insurance.

Havoc for Medicare could have repercussions as both parties avidly court seniors in this election year and as hospitals and doctors increasingly complain the program doesn’t pay enough.

In papers filed with the Supreme Court, administration lawyers warned of “extraordinary disruption” if Medicare is forced to unwind countless transactions that are based on payment changes required by more than 20 separate sections of the Affordable Care Act.

Opponents say the whole law must go. The administration counters that even if the court strikes down the insurance mandate, it should preserve most of the rest of the legislation. That would leave in place the changes to Medicare and a major expansion of Medicaid coverage.

Last year, in a lower court filing, Justice Department lawyers said reversing Medicare payment changes “would impose staggering administrative burdens” on the government and “could cause major delays and errors” in claims payment.

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Hat tip: Kim Priestap.


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