The Supreme Court issued a landmark decision to uphold a critical provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ruling says that eligible individuals are able to receive subsidies/tax credits from the federal government for purchasing health coverage regardless of whether they live in a state that set up a health insurance marketplace or a state that relies on the exchange created by the federal government (healthcare.gov). Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said: “Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them.”
This is the second Supreme Court ruling in favor of the ACA meaning that President Obama's biggest achievement on the domestic policy front is likely to stay in place unless a future administration and Congress and administration decide to overturn it. Do you think the Supreme Court made the right call?
Supporters of the Affordable Care Act in front of the Supreme Court. Source: Doug Mills/NY Times
Background: The case centered around a challenge from opponents of the law who argued that certain wording in the law only specified that individuals in states with state-run exchanges are eligible for subsidies. A ruling in favor of the challengers would have turned the healthcare law on its head as individuals who signed up for coverage through the federal exchange would have lost their subsidies. The map below shows the types of exchange in each state.