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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW 'Mitigation banking' ... The El Niño effect ... Our View: Legislature left unfinished business on ethics ... 'Mitigation banking' ... The El Niño effect ... Our View: Legislature left unfinished business on ethics ... ANOTHER VIEW Court ruling may envelop Cover Oregon Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Nov. 19, 2014 at 2:00 AM Updated Nov 20, 2014 at 8:53 AM Posted Nov. 19, 2014 at 2:00 AM Updated Nov 20, 2014 at 8:53 AM » Social News from the Albany Democrat Herald So you thought that the mess surrounding the failed Cover Oregon online health insurance exchange couldn't get any more convoluted? The U.S. Supreme Court begs to differ. Last week's decision by the court to hear a new challenge to President Barack Obama's health care law carries with it the potential to bounce back in unexpected ways to Oregonians. The lawsuit the court agreed to hear is King v. Burwell, a Virginia case challenging the tax subsidies that help millions of low- and middle-income people afford health insurance. The challengers in the case argue that those subsidies are being provided unlawfully in three dozen states that have decided not to run the public marketplaces known as exchanges for the sale of health insurance. They say that under a literal reading of the law, subsides are available only in states that established their own exchanges. If the court sides with the challengers — and we know at least four justices thought the case was worthy of at least being heard — people receiving the tax subsidies in those states would become ineligible for them. It would be a devastating, and perhaps fatal, blow to the Affordable Care Act. Here's part of the reason why: According to a story in The New York Times, people who received the subsidies through the exchanges enjoyed on average a 76 percent reduction in their premiums, from $346 a month to $82. If the court rules in favor of the challengers in this case, the ruling could eliminate subsidies for 4.5 million people. (It's unlikely, however, that anyone would have to pay back the subsidies.) Without the subsidies, health insurance could well become unaffordable for many consumers, who would then be exempted from the requirement to have insurance. That requirement is at the heart of the Affordable Care Act. Last week, a White House spokesman said the lawsuit was little more than "a partisan effort to undermine the Affordable Care Act," and that position seems to have some merit. But the fact remains that the high court will hear the case, regardless of the motivations of the challengers. Here's where Cover Oregon fits into this: The state is in the process of switching over to a federal site after the online portion of Oregon's exchange never properly functioned. If the Supreme Court rules for the challengers, would Oregon be considered one of the states which has not run its own exchange and therefore is ineligible for the tax subsidies? It's not clear. A state spokesman said last week that the 70,000 people who bought their insurance through Cover Oregon (using a cumbersome paper process) still will get their tax credit. After that, though, no one knows. And if the court does rule in favor of the challengers, expect this latest Cover Oregon wrinkle to be a mere footnote to what could be the obituary for the Affordable Care Act. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Nov. 19, 2014 at 2:00 AM Updated Nov 20, 2014 at 8:53 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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