Student Well-Being

Educators Await Outcome on Health-Care Law

By Mark Walsh — March 17, 2015 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Educators are watching the latest challenge to the federal health-care law to come before the U.S. Supreme Court, with an eye to its potential impact on school districts’ employee-benefits policies. The justices heard extended arguments this month over a key provision of the Affordable Care Act.

There was no clear indication from their questions how the court will rule in the case of King v. Burwell (No. 14-114) on whether President Barack Obama’s administration is observing the law by allowing tax subsidies to go to individuals in 34 states that have declined to establish their own health-insurance exchanges.

A group of Indiana districts that is separately challenging the law’s employer mandate filed a friend-of-the-court brief on the side of four Virginia individuals who say in the case just heard by the court that they would be harmed by the ACA. Meanwhile, the National Education Association filed a brief in support of the law because it says the ACA has expanded health care to more Americans.

The Virginia residents say the law requires them to pay at least some amount out of pocket for coverage they don’t want. One of the challengers, Brenda Levy of Richmond, is a substitute teacher. During the March 4 arguments, some justices questioned whether she and the other challengers have legal standing, based on concerns that they might be eligible for alternatives such as veterans’ coverage or Medicare.

Michael A. Carvin, the lawyer representing the challengers, said that even though Ms. Levy will turn 65 this year, she still faces the prospect of penalties for not having health coverage in 2014.

The arguments moved quickly, though, to the merits of the case.

“The only provision in the [ACA] which either authorizes or limits subsidies says, in plain English, that the subsidies are only available through an ‘exchange established by the state under Section 1311,’ ” Mr. Carvin said.

Justice Elena Kagan told Mr. Carvin that “it’s not a simple four or five words. … It’s the whole structure and context of the provision.”

U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. said that the challengers’ reading of the text “produces an incoherent statute that doesn’t work.”

Justice Antonin Scalia said the ACA probably has numerous “ill-considered” provisions, and Congress could be expected to step in and fix the law if the Internal Revenue Service rules at issue in the case were struck down.

“Well, this Congress … theoretically they could,” Mr. Verrilli replied, as a courtroom packed with several high-ranking U.S. senators and representatives laughed at his reference to congressional gridlock.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy expressed federalism concerns, including that the challengers’ reading of the law would be so problematic for the states that didn’t establish their own exchanges that it would make the law unconstitutionally coercive. That might call for accepting the Obama administration’s interpretation to avoid such a constitutional ruling, he suggested.

Mr. Carvin said that Justice Kennedy’s logic on that point would jeopardize all manner of federal funding statutes, including the No Child Left Behind Act.

One member of the court was uncharacteristically quiet for most of the 80-minute argument: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who provided the pivotal vote in 2012 to uphold the ACA’s individual mandate.

A decision is expected by late June.

A version of this article appeared in the March 18, 2015 edition of Education Week as Educators Await Decision on Health Law

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Mathematics Webinar
Engaging Every Learner: Strategies to Boost Math Motivation
Math Motivation Boost! Research & real tips to engage learners.
Content provided by Prodigy Education
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Well-Being Webinar
The Ripple Effect: Mental Health & Student Outcomes
Learn how student mental health impacts outcomes—and how to use that data to support your school’s IEP funding strategy.
Content provided by Huddle Up
Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Student Well-Being Netflix's 'Adolescence' Sparks Debate Over Sex Education in Schools
Sex education, generally ill-equipped to handle subject matter to which teens are exposed, is getting further squeezed.
6 min read
052025 abstinence sex education computer access 476732252
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being What Schools Can Do About Climate Change Right Now
A new report details how schools can adapt for climate change in both small and big ways.
7 min read
Ceiba Phillips, an 11-year-old Eaton Fire evacuee, visits his school gutted by the fire in Altadena, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025.
Ceiba Phillips, an 11-year-old Eaton Fire evacuee, visits his school gutted by the fire in Altadena, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. A new report from EdTrust outlines how schools can adapt for climate change, from incorporating the concept into the curriculum, tending to students' climate anxiety, and making climate-resilient facility upgrades.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Student Well-Being Netflix’s ‘Adolescence’ Sounds an Alarm on Troubled Teens. What Can Teachers Do?
The popular Netflix series "Adolescence" raises questions about what schools can do for troubled teens.
6 min read
Illustration of a depressive boy that is sitting and thinking on a window at night (dark blue background)
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being 4 Ways Schools Can Ease Student Anxiety During Trump's Immigration Crackdown
Changes in the federal immigration enforcement landscape can cause increased anxiety among all students
4 min read
Illustration of a large hand holding an umbrella over a person of color who is sitting with her head in her hands.
iStock/Getty