A plaintiff in a lawsuit that threatens to upend Obamacare is under deeper scrutiny after listing a Virginia motel where she no longer resides as her primary address,
The Wall Street Journal reported.
Rose Luck's address was used in the case brought by her attorneys to calculate the cost of state insurance plans for those living in her zip code. She is one of four plaintiffs challenging Obamacare and seeking elimination of tax credits for those joining the health insurance plan, the Journal said.
She and three others charge in the case that the healthcare law lets consumers use credits only in states that are running their own exchanges — eliminating such credits in their home state of Virginia, which like 37 states, uses a federal insurance enrollment system.
Attorneys representing Luck used an address in court papers at the American Inn motel in Petersburg, Virginia, during the fall 2013. But a receptionist told the Journal that Luck no longer lived there, noting residents were only allowed a 28-day stay.
Her address is crucial to the case, as it was used by attorneys as well as the government to calculate how much she would pay for an insurance plan for those in her same age group and zip code. It also comes to bear on whether she is a legitimate plaintiff in the case.
Noted the Journal: "Her right to bring the case, or 'standing,' already had been subject to questions during earlier stages of the litigation on whether she was exempt from the penalty for not buying coverage because her income was too low."
A Competitive Enterprise Institute spokesperson, which is paying to support the lawsuit, said that Luck remains a resident of Virginia, the Journal said. The spokesperson declined to say where she was living.
The case over the healthcare law's subsidies has come under intense media scrutiny,
The Washington Post said.
The Daily Kos, citing ongoing issues with the case, called it frivolous.
"This suit was already pretty suspect on the merits,"
wrote the Daily Kos. "As more is revealed about it, it's becoming more and more absurd, qualifying it as one of the most bulls—t cases ever to be plucked up by the Supreme Court."
Oral arguments in the case are expected to begin March 4, the Journal said.
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