A lawyer for the evangelical group American Freedom Law Center has lost his Obamacare suit in the D.C. Circuit on the grounds of lack of standing.

The appellate court ruled that the AFLCA and Robert Muise, it’s co-founder and senior counsel, failed to prove beyond the standard of probability that the Health and Human Service’s “transitional” program (allowing non-compliant health plans to continue temporarily) actually caused a jump in his health care premiums.

“Obamacare,” has generated its fair share of controversy over the years – and that controversy shows no sign of slowing.

One of many challenges to the ACA, the AFLC’s suit claimed that the government’s transitional policy caused Muise’s health insurance premiums to spike.

Muise had a health insurance plan with Blue Cross that was converted into an ACA-compliant plan. Under the transitional program, Blue Cross could have continued offering Muise’s original plan for a limited period – but it chose not to. Muise’s insurance premiums increased from just under $1,350 to $2,122.

Justifications Fall Short

To buttress his theory, Muise pointed out a rate filing by Blue Cross that blamed the rate hike partly on a smaller than expected pool of ACA-compliant insurers. But even though Blue Cross called this a “primary motivating factor,” the circuit found the link between the rate hikes and the HHS programs to be too indirect and attenuated to form a direct causal link. And without a probable allegation of causation, standing to sue also crumbles.

We would hazard that given another court, the presiding jurists could find that enough of a causal link could be found to meet a Twombly standard. Nonetheless, the ruling marks a significant victory for ACA proponents and places health care recipients in a rough spot.

Related Resources:

  • Obamacare Insurer Reimbursements Are Unconstitutional, Court Rules (FindLaw’s DC Circuit Blog)
  • DC Circuit Sides With Gov’t in TSA/Flight School Case (FindLaw’s DC Circuit Blog)
  • Postal Service Loses Bid to Raise Netflix Delivery Fees (FindLaw’s DC Circuit Blog)

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