Why Scott Walker Should Hope the Supreme Court Leaves Obamacare In Place

The Supreme Court’s decision in King v. Burwell, which was argued Wednesday, could have profound political and economic effects. As I write in the current issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, a court decision eliminating federal subsidies for 34 states under the Affordable Care Acts could lead to 9.6 million people losing their insurance and premiums skyrocketing for many more.

This could have a major impact on the presidential race, since the immediate imperative in the wake of such a ruling will be figuring out how to contain the fallout. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse warns his GOP colleagues of the political nightmare they’ll face if they don’t have a plan to help people who lose their insurance: “Chemotherapy turned off for perhaps 12,000 people, dialysis going dark for 10,000. The horror stories will be real.”