July 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 31

four provisions were removed or
struck from the law, the fundamental
structure of the ACA would become
compromised. Premiums would increase and insurers would leave the
marketplace, destabilizing the entire
health insurance system.
Where statutory/legislative language is clear, the Supreme Court is
required to enforce that language as
stated. However, in instances of ambiguity - as in the ACA language under
scrutiny here - the Court must read
words " in their context and with a
view to their place in the overall statutory scheme. " This small portion of
the ACA is ambiguous, so the Court
had to look at the broader structure of
the bill to determine its compatibility
with the rest of the law and the intent
of Congress. The Court, in short, said

that poor writing skills and ambiguity
shouldn't be used to deny tax credits
to help people purchase health insurance. The larger intent of the law, and
Congress' passage of the bill, was to
expand access to health insurance.
King v. Burwell's Impacts
While King v. Burwell focused on the
legality of tax credits, some of you
may have additional concerns about
the case's effect on the employer mandate - the requirement that large employers, with more than 50 full-time
employees (FTEs), provide health insurance. The Court's decision means:
* Tax credits are still available to
help low- and middle-income individuals and families purchase
health insurance through federaland state-run exchanges.

* Large employers (with more than 50
FTEs) in states with federally run exchanges are still required to provide
insurance for their employees.
* NRPA members residing in states
that run their own exchanges will
still have to comply with the requirements of the ACA. King v.
Burwell had no bearing on operations or individuals in those states.
We hope this clears up any confusion that exists about the July 25
Supreme Court decision. Feel free to
email me if you have any additional
questions or concerns. You can also
find additional background about
this decision at www.parksandrecreation.org/2015/July/King-v-Burwell-an-Explainer.
Oliver Spurgeon III is NRPA's Government
Affairs Manager (ospurgeon@nrpa.org).

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Parks & Recreation

July 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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