Last week, the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) insurance subsidies with 6-3 ruling. The decision is a victory for the millions of Americans who need financial assistance to purchase health insurance, and means that tax credits for middle and low-income Americans will be available in all 50 states.
The King v. Burwell case argued that the federal government exchange, Healthcare.gov, did not have the legal authority to distribute tax credits to help middle and low-income Americans purchase coverage. Since 34 states rely on Healthcare.gov as their health insurance marketplace, a decision in favor of the challengers would have undermined the entire purpose of the ACA and put health coverage out of reach for 6.4 million people.
The Court’s decision finally secures state health exchanges in every state and puts the country in a position to move forward and focus on improvements to the law.