July 22, 2014 4:58 PM

Rare agreement in Texas about the burden of health care

Interfaith group turns to conservative lawmakers for long-term solutions

Two US appeals courts have issued dueling decisions around the Affordable Health Care Act, but the leader of one of the state’s biggest faith-based organizations has a longer-ranging question: Do Texas lawmakers intend to leave employers, and especially small employers, on the hook for health care costs?

The DC circuit court on Tuesday morning said health care subsidies should be available only to state-established health care exchanges, cutting out states like Texas, which of course refused to establish its own exchange. Hours later, however, the Fourth Circuit of Appeals, struck down a similar challenge. The White House already has indicated the DC decision will be appealed to the full 15-member court.

For Bee Moorhead, who heads Texas Impact, the real question ahead of the 2015 legislative session is not yes or no to subsidies. It’s how Texas intends to shape its own health care future in a way that does not unduly burden small business owners.

The Affordable Care Act offered two levers intended to contain health care costs: A statewide health insurance exchange and a federally subsidized expansion of Medicaid. Texas has rejected both. Those decisions shifted the question to business owners who choose, or don’t choose, to offer health care coverage.

By Kimberly Reeves