Supreme Court rules in favor of ObamaCare

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 Withdrawn subsidies, therefore, would have put inexpensive healthcare out of the hands of millions of Americans.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.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up