Obamacare Subsidies Upheld By Supreme Court
Obamacare subsidies were upheld by the Supreme Court in a vote of 6-3. Although the Affordable Care Act provides healthcare to an estimated 8.7 million Americans, opponents argued the subsidies should not be available to residents of states without healthcare exchanges.
Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are based on income, were designed to make healthcare affordable for all Americans and reduce the number of uninsured.
Obama takes victory lap on health care – http://t.co/Me8x9cw9y9 #Obamacare #healthcare pic.twitter.com/KKeUaxa4Ei
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) June 25, 2015
Although the subsidies are provided to many individuals at the state level, there are 34 states without their own healthcare exchange. Therefore, federal government exchanges are tasked with providing subsidies to residents in those states.
Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the dissent, which was affirmed by justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.
“… the law authorizes the Internal Revenue Service to spend tens of billions of dollars every year in tax credits on federal Exchanges. It affects the price of insurance for millions of Americans. It diminishes the participation of the States in the implementation of the Act.”
If the Obamacare subsidies were not upheld by the Supreme Court, the “established by state” provision would have been removed from the Affordable Care Act — and the 34 states without their own healthcare exchanges would have been compelled to establish exchanges. Otherwise, millions of people would have lost their healthcare coverage.
As reported by CNN, the changes would have been “politically treacherous and likely untenable,” as Congress, and the governors in a majority of the 34 states are Republican. On June 25, the Supreme Court announced their decision to uphold the Obamacare subsidies.
Supreme Court’s ruling may have just killed state-based exchanges http://t.co/YWhmeymUex
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 25, 2015
The Supreme Court’s decision was written by Chief Justice John Roberts and affirmed by justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, Anthony Kennedy, and Sonia Sotomayor.
“Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them. If at all possible, we must interpret the Act in a way that is consistent with the former, and avoids the latter. Section 36B can fairly be read consistent with what we see as Congress’s plan, and that is the reading we adopt.”
As reported by WWLP News, the decision was a victory for President Barack Obama, who helped develop and promote the Affordable Care Act. The President is expected to comment on the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Obamacare subsidies during a press conference.
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