Oklahoma's victory in a federal court case against the Affordable Care Act is a "consequential" win in the fight against President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt says.
"It's a victory for rule of law, first and foremost," Pruitt said Monday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
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Judge Ronald White ruled last week that Affordable Care Act subsidies cannot go to residents of states that do not operate their own insurance exchanges.
He said the administration’s decision to allow subsidies to funnel through either a state-run exchange or the federal exchange is an improper and invalid reading of the law.
Oklahoma sued to overturn the provisions, arguing they could cost local governments and large employers millions of dollars in penalties for noncompliance.
"He said in his opinion, he's just simply fulfilling that which Congress passed .... Congress said subsidies that are issued on the Affordable Care Act should flow and be issued only through a state exchange," Pruitt said.
"The reason that was established that way is the federal government, Congress and the administration wanted to incentive the states that set up these healthcare exchanges.
"And the only way they could do that is through what they normally use, money, and when 34 states said no to the establishment of these healthcare exchanges despite all these monies being offered the administration had a problem."
He said the Obama administration then instructed the IRS to disregard the law.
"It was arbitrary, it was capricious and it was an abuse of discretion because the statue constrains the IRS from doing what it did," Pruitt said.
"[This] was a victory for rule of law, but it was a victory also for making sure that the federal government, the IRS doesn't disregard the plain reading of the statute and try to use a pen and a phone as the president's talked about, to change or alter statutes after the fact."
The government intends to appeal White's ruling.
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