By Mary Agnes Carey
Kaiser Health News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday two U.S. appeals courts issued conflicting rulings on a subject that’s important to millions of people: the availability of subsidies to help purchase coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News answers some frequently asked questions about those court decisions and how they affect consumers.

Q: What did the courts decide?

A: In a blow to the ACA, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the health law’s subsidies are available only to individuals in the 14 states and the District of Columbia now operating their own health insurance exchanges. The federal government now runs the exchanges in 36 states. Judge Thomas Griffith, writing the majority opinion in the 2-1 decision, said they concluded “that the ACA unambiguously restricts” the subsidies to “exchanges ‘established by the state.'”

In a separate ruling, a three-judge panel for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., ruled unanimously for the Obama administration, allowing subsidies to be available to residents in all states. Judge Roger Gregory, writing the opinion, said while the ACA is “ambiguous and subject to multiple interpretations,” the court decided to uphold the Internal Revenue Service’s interpretation of the law that residents of states using the federal exchange are entitled to subsidies.

Q: What was the issue the courts decided on?

A: The case centers on a brief description in the ACA that says subsidies will be available “through an exchange established by the state.”
In implementing the ACA, the IRS interpreted the law to allow eligible consumers to receive subsidies to help purchase coverage, regardless of whether they are in an exchange run by their state or by the federal government.

Opponents of the law questioned that interpretation, saying that the law as written clearly directs subsidies to state-based exchanges only. But proponents – including several lawmakers who helped write it – said lawmakers fully intended that subsidies be offered on all exchanges no matter if they were administered by federal or state officials.

Q: I don’t know if my state runs its own exchange. Which states do?

A: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia all run their own exchanges.

Idaho and New Mexico intend to set up their own marketplace for the next enrollment period, which begins in November, but used healthcare.gov this year.

Kansas and Missouri are among the 36 states with a federally operated exchange.

Q: I live in a state with a federally run exchange, and I get a subsidy to help me buy coverage. Am I going to lose it?

A: Nothing is happening immediately. Justice Department officials said Tuesday they plan to seek an en banc review from the D.C. Appeals Court, meaning that the panel’s full contingent of 11 judges would hear the case. Six of the court’s judges would have to agree for the full panel to review the case. The full panel is dominated by judges appointed by Democrats, 7-4.

Eventually the case could be considered by the Supreme Court, but the current subsidies would likely remain in place until there is a final legal decision on the matter.

“In the meantime, to be clear, people getting premium tax credits should know that nothing has changed; tax credits remain available,” said Emily Pierce, deputy director of the Justice Department’s office of public affairs.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the administration was confident it would prevail. “You don’t need a fancy legal degree to understand that Congress intended for every eligible American to have access to tax credits that would lower their health care costs, regardless of whether it was state officials or federal officials who were running the marketplace.”

Supporters of the court challenge to the IRS interpretation on subsidies also maintain their case is strong. “The executive branch does not get to rewrite statutes just because it thinks those statutes would work better a certain way,” said Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute who championed the subsidy appeals. “If people lose those subsidies it is because the courts have ruled that those subsidies are and always have been unlawful – that the administration had no authority to administer those in the first place.”

Q: Are these the only two court cases?

A: No. There are two other similar cases pending in courts in Oklahoma and Indiana.

Q: If there are legal disputes ongoing about who qualifies to receive a subsidy, do I still have to buy health insurance?

A: Yes. The law’s “individual mandate,” which requires most people to purchase health insurance or pay a fine, is still in place.

Q. What if I get my insurance through work?

This decision applies only to policies sold on the online marketplaces. It does not affect work-based insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, regardless of where you live.

ABILENE- Investigators will be in Abilene today to try to determine what caused the Wednesday evening fire that destroyed the former Presbyterian Church building in Abilene that housed the Great Plains Theatre.

The blaze was reported about 7 p.m. Wednesday. There were no injuries.  It was the second historic Abilene building to be destroyed by fire in less than two years. The Kirby House, a landmark restaurant, burned to the ground in February. The videos were shot as firefighters worked at the scene.

 

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A former Garmin International employee has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for stealing GPS devices from the Olathe-based company.

The office of the U.S. Attorney for Kansas said in a release Wednesday that 32-year-old Terrence M. Heathington was sentenced Tuesday to two years and nine months in federal prison after pleading guilty to mail fraud. Heathington, who worked in Garmin International’s Olathe warehouse, also has to pay more than $2 million in restitution.

The indictment filed last year accused him of causing about 165 cases of stolen GPS devices valued at more than $1 million to be shipped in 2008 to his home and those of his friends in Atlanta.

He and his co-conspirators were accused of selling the devices on eBay and elsewhere.

 

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say an Augusta couple stole more than $1.5 million from a Wichita company that owns assisted living centers in Kansas and Missouri.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Wichita says 43-year-old Brent Shryock and his 50-year-old ex-wife, Lori Shryock, were indicted Wednesday with four counts of mail fraud.

The indictment alleges the crimes were committed while Brent Shryock was employed as information systems director for Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America. He was in charge of purchasing equipment.

Prosecutors say the couple created four fictitious companies to submit fraudulent invoices. One was LGR Technology, whose initials prosecutors say stood for “Let’s Get Rich.”

Her defense attorney says Lori Shryock has been divorced for at least two years and she will plead not guilty. It’s unclear if Brent Shryock has an attorney.

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka official says United Airlines will end flights between the Kansas capital and Chicago on Sept. 2.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports  that Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority President Eric Johnson made the announcement Wednesday. There have been twice-daily flights since January.

Topeka will have no regularly scheduled commercial flights. Before the United service started, the last commercial service was to Las Vegas through Allegiant Air in 2007.

United reported that Topeka passengers filled 49 percent of the available seats, compared with 86 percent for all of United’s flights to Chicago.

Also, the Topeka airport authority burned through the $1.95 million in state and federal funds it received to guarantee United’s revenues by the end of May, forcing the airline to cover shortfalls after that.

 

Dewey Terrill, JC Post

ABILENE–FIre crews were called on Wednesday evening to a blaze at the old church that is home to the Great Plains Theater in Abilene. The facility is located at 300 N Mulberry.

Authorities on the scene reported the fire, that started at approximately 7 p.m,. grew and consumed the inside of the historic building.

Chancy Smith, the Director of Dickinson County Emergency, said that it appears that the building will be a total loss. “The roof is  completely gone from the structure. All of the beautiful stained glass windows are gone. The fire’s raging in the basement at this time. ( 8:30 p.m. ).”

Smith noted structures to both the west and north of the burning building were being protected.  ”Keeping all the spectators and stuff back about 50 yards. The heat’s that intense.”

Smith said the building was safely evacuated, and there were no injuries.

He reported in addition to the Great Plains Theatre, the City of Abilene also had a movie theater in the building that was operated during the week.  The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Dan Margolies, KUCR

and Bryan Thompson, KPR

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Annie E. Casey Foundation, a child advocacy group, released its annual Kids Count report today, and Kansas ranked 15th overall and Missouri 29th. The report assesses overall child well-being based on four broad categories: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community.
Both Kansas and Missouri saw their indicators for education and health improve while their indicators for economic well-being and family and community mostly worsened.

Missouri slipped two places from last year and three from 2012. While Kansas went up one spot higher than last year, the numbers aren’t all that good in terms of Kansas kids’ economic well-being.

“Poor children will be especially vulnerable in this time of diminishing state revenues,” said Shannon Cotsoradis, president and CEO of the advocacy group Kansas Action for Children. “Public investments matter if we’re serious about lifting children out of poverty. Changing the trajectory for poor children is about making sure they have access to adequate food, shelter, health care and early learning opportunities.”
Cotsoradis said the long-term outcome for poor children will depend on their access to post-secondary education, including vocational, technical and higher education. She worries about how these programs will be affected by the state’s looming budget shortfall.

The annual Kids Count report – this one was the 25th – rated Massachusetts as the top state for overall child well-being, followed by Vermont, Iowa, New Hampshire and Minnesota. The worst state was Mississippi, followed by New Mexico, Nevada, Louisiana and Arizona.

Nationwide, the report said children continued to progress in the areas of education and health, but economic progress lagged, even after the end of the recession. A mixed picture emerged for family and community. While the teen birth rate hit a historic low, the percentages of children living in single-parent families and high-poverty areas increased.

Among the report’s Kansas findings:

• 135,000 children, or 19 percent, lived in poverty compared with 15 percent in 2005.

• 176,000, or 24 percent, had parents without secure employment.

• 215,000, or 31 percent, lived in single-parent families, compared with 27 percent in 2005.

• There were 34 teen births per 1,000, or a total of 3,306 births, an improvement from the 41 teen births per 1,000 recorded in 2005.

• 48,000, or 7 percent, had no health insurance, an improvement from the 8 percent in 2008.

• 62 percent of fourth-graders were not proficient in reading, better than the 68 percent in 2005.

• 60 percent of eighth-graders were not proficient in math, better than the 66 percent in 2005.

Among the report’s Missouri findings:

• 310,000 children, or 23 percent, lived in poverty compared with 19 percent in 2005.

• 433,000, or 31 percent, had parents without secure employment.

• 469,000, or 35 percent, lived in single-parent families, compared with 32 percent in 2005.

• There were 32 teen births per 1,000, or a total of 6,317 births, an improvement from the 42 teen births per 1,000 recorded in 2005.

• 98,000, or 7 percent, had no health insurance, unchanged since 2008.

• 65 percent of fourth-graders were not proficient in reading, slightly improved from 67 percent in 2013.

• 67 percent of eighth-graders were not proficient in math, compared with 74 percent in 2013.