Raining on HHS' Parade

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius proudly joined Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman Friday morning on a conference call with reporters for a far-reaching announcement on tax credits under the Affordable Care Act.

Proposed rules published Friday by HHS and the Treasury Department award certain states $185 million set up health insurance exchanges and spell out terms for the health insurance premium tax credit that would average $5,000 per family and benefit 20 million Americans, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Several hours later, the news broke that the Circuit Court panel in Atlanta had struck down the individual mandate portion of the law as unconstitutional.

Given that the litigation appears bound for the Supreme Court, agency troopers have little choice but to press on with the law's implementation.