CBS News – President Obama and other Affordable Care Act supporters can breathe a sigh of relief: The Supreme Court has rejected a lawsuit that would have barred millions of Americans from receiving tax credits to help them pay for insurance.
In a 6 to 3 decision, the court ruled that the federal government can dole out subsidies to Obamacare consumers in all states, regardless of whether their state runs its own Obamacare marketplace or relies on the federal government’s HealthCare.gov.
Had the court sided with the plaintiffs in King v. Burwell, more than 6 million Americans in 34 states that rely on the federal marketplace would have lost subsidies.
The case hinged on the court’s reading of one line in the Affordable Care Act. Section 1311 of the law says the federal government will give subsidies to eligible consumers who buy insurance from an exchange “established by the State.” The plaintiffs argued that, consequently, consumers in federally-run marketplaces were ineligible for tax credits. However, lawmakers from both sides of the aislehave said it was never their intention to limit the tax credits to state-run marketplaces.
