Brandon Dutcher, senior VP at the Oklahoma Council of Public affairs, sent me this Washington Examiner article by Tim Carney. Mr. Carney assumes that his readers are familiar with King v. Burwell, a case before the Supreme Court that most agree represents a death blow to the Unaffordable Care Act.  For those who are not familiar, King v. Burwell will disallow Obamacare  subsidies to states which did not set up state exchanges. The “law” clearly states that these subsidies will be distributed through “exchanges established by the states,” making no other allowance, namely an exchange of federal origin. Oklahoma’s Attorney General Scott Pruitt has one of the leading roles in this court case, a case most agree is the last stand by states wanting nothing to do with Obamacare shoved down their throats.

If the good guys win, Obamacare will be irreparably crippled in the states (37, I think) that did not establish these exchanges.  Without these subsidies that hide the true cost of the “insurance,” the premiums will be exorbitant, the individual mandate will vaporize and no penalties can be applied to “non-purchasers.”

Back to Mr. Carney.  Whose support of the King v. Burwell effort is absent?  Mr. Carney rightly ridicules the liberal rag “Mother Jones” for claiming that King v. Burwell has no merit because corporate healthcare cronies aren’t supporting it. My favorite of his analogies is this one:

“If cutting defense spending is such a good idea, why is the military-industrial complex opposed?”

This is after all, the same logic used by the folks at “Mother Jones” in forming the basis of their skepticism of King v. Burwell. Mr. Carney’s humorous article unveils the cronyism that forms the basis of the Unaffordable Care Act.  For more evidence, read this report about record setting revenues at one of the nation’s largest “insurance” carriers. Cronyism like any other scheme or conspiracy survives only as long as few know the truth. These two articles should help provide courage to those remaining skeptics to open their eyes to the true nature and purpose of Obamacare.

G. Keith Smith, M.D.