With the Supreme Court expected to hand down its much-anticipated decision on insurance subsidies any day now, there's at least one man not sweating the potentially devastating impact of a negative decision -- the man suing to deny subsidies to Americans whose governors didn't set up state-based exchanges.
David M. King, the plaintiff in King v. Burwell, doesn't much care if federal subsidies for health insurance are stripped from millions of Americans because he receives health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The 64-year-old Virginian told The New York Times that he was proud to be part of potentially bringing down the historic healthcare law. “I listen to everybody bitch and moan and cry about Obamacare,” Mr. King said. “We did something about it.”
When asked about the potentially devastating impact of stripping subsidies for Americans who would otherwise be unable to afford coverage, King didn't seem too bothered because as he explained, “I’m eligible for V.A. care”:
When he sued the government in September 2013, Mr. King filed a declaration stating that he was not eligible for health insurance from the government or any employer. But in the last few months, he said in the interview, he went to an outpatient clinic for veterans in Fredericksburg and received a veteran identification card so he could qualify for discounts at Lowe’s stores.
Lowe’s, the home improvement company, offers discounts to honor the service of veterans.
He did it for the discount.
But not to worry: King said that while “the left will blow it out of proportion and claim that eight million people will lose their health insurance,” his lawyers have assured him that “things are in play to take care of the problem."
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