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Today, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a key provision of the Affordable Care Act, ruling in a 6-3 decision that the federal government can continue to subsidize health policies in states that refused to set up their own insurance marketplaces.
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<p>Today, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a key provision of the Affordable Care Act, ruling in a 6-3 decision that the federal government can continue to subsidize health policies in states such as Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida that refused to set up their own insurance marketplaces. This is a victory for millions of people who otherwise could not afford health insurance. The case is described by the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/26/us/obamacare-supreme-court.html">The New York Times</a> in this story:</p>
<p><em>The case concerned a central part of the Affordable Care Act, Mr. Obama's signature legislative achievement. The law created marketplaces, known as exchanges, to allow people who lack insurance to shop for individual health plans. Some states set up their own exchanges, but about three dozen allowed the federal government to step in to run them. Across the nation, about 85 percent of customers using the exchanges qualify for subsidies to help pay for coverage, based on their income .The question in the case, King v. Burwell, No. 14-114, was what to make of a phrase in the law that seems to say the subsidies are available only to people buying insurance on "an exchange established by the state."</em></p>
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<p><em>The case concerned a central part of the Affordable Care Act, Mr. Obama's signature legislative achievement. The law created marketplaces, known as exchanges, to allow people who lack insurance to shop for individual health plans. Some states set up their own exchanges, but about three dozen allowed the federal government to step in to run them. Across the nation, about 85 percent of customers using the exchanges qualify for subsidies to help pay for coverage, based on their income .The question in the case, King v. Burwell, No. 14-114, was what to make of a phrase in the law that seems to say the subsidies are available only to people buying insurance on "an exchange established by the state."</em></p>
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