ObamaCare Could Be Overturned, But Billions Have Already Been Spent

The Supreme Court’s decision on the fate of ObamaCare is due next week, but will it really matter? Whether or not the President’s controversial healthcare reform bill is found constitutional, a lot of money has already been spent much to the glee of its supporters and the chagrin of its detractors.

SCOTUS will rule at the end of June whether or not ObamaCare is constitutional. If found unconstitutional, the bill (or its unseemliest parts) will be de-funded and the bill will die. Conservatives have been trying to get the White House to stop spending money on parts of the law already in place until the SCOTUS rules on it, but they won’t stop. In fact, they’ve spent $2.7 billion on it since arguments ended at the end of March, reports Politico.

“Instead of helping Americans prevent health problems, the president’s new law actually uses this so-called prevention fund as a Washington slush fund,” Senator John Barrasso, a Republican from Wyoming, reported by the New York Times.

Interestingly, the $2.7 billion is more than double what was spent in the three months leading up to the oral arguments for the case. A lot of that money has been on the spending docket, but there is very little structure in existence as to when or how or how much money is to be spent. Since the money doesn’t have to be re-paid, then the quicker they can spend it before the Supreme Court’s decision, the more of the law gets into the system – through the back door.

“It was irresponsible to spend a single dollar implementing the law before the Supreme Court rules, and I fought hard to prevent that money from being spent,” said House Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Denny Rehberg.

Naturally, this thrills supporters of ObamaCare. Much of the law will never die. It was in the system, it will continue to be in the system. This also, of course, really sucks for you if you’re on the other side of this law. The individual mandate might be kaput, but the money is spent. ObamaCare lives.

Do you think the administration should have been allowed to spend before the SCOTUS decision? Which side of the debate are you on?