Supreme Court rules in favor of ObamaCare

(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

published 25 June 2015

In a landmark victory for ObamaCare, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Thursday to uphold federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, effectively allowing millions of Americans who receive government aid through Healthcare.gov to keep their insurance subsidies. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joining the court's liberal wing and swing Justice Anthony Kennedy.

The case, King v. Burwell, hinged on a line in the Affordable Care Act saying that federal subsidies were only available for insurance plans purchased on "an exchange established by the state." The court ruled that federal subsidies also applied to Americans in the roughly three dozen states where the federal government had stepped in to run the insurance exchanges.

An estimated 6.4 million Americans receive financial subsidies through Healthcare.gov. Had the Supreme Court not voted to uphold subsidies, private insurance would have become unaffordable to many who already were enrolled. Withdrawn subsidies, therefore, would have put inexpensive healthcare out of the hands of millions of Americans. With today's ruling, residents in states that have chosen not to establish their exchanges will continue to have access to a federally facilitated exchange established by the Affordable Care Act.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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