The U.S. Supreme Court today upheld the health care subsidies in the Affordable Care Act.
In a 6-3 ruling, the justices stopped an effort to take away the health care subsidies in Kansas and many other states for those individuals who bought insurance in the online marketplace.
“The combination of no tax credits and an ineffective coverage requirement could well push a State’s individual insurance market into a death spiral. It is implausible that Congress meant the Act to operate in this manner. Congress made the guaranteed issue and community rating requirements applicable in every State in the Nation, but those requirements only work when combined with the coverage requirement and tax credits. It thus stands to reason that Congress meant for those provisions to apply in every State as well,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court.
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell stated: “Today’s Supreme Court decision confirms that the Affordable Care Act’s tax credits are available to all eligible Americans no matter where they live. Americans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia can continue to rely on the security and peace of mind that come with affordable, quality health care coverage.”
U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., released this statement: “The Supreme Court’s decision today does not take away from the fact the Obamacare is fundamentally broken and that the administration has recklessly implemented this law, damaging our health care system as a whole and jeopardizing Kansans’ health care. Every day Obamacare continues to hurt millions—just last week the administration released the proposed premium increases for 2016, rising to as high as 38 percent for some in Kansas. Doctors are becoming increasingly unavailable to their patients, and employers continue to cut jobs and hours. I will continue to fight for real reforms to our health care system that lower costs, lift the burden on our job creators, and restore the all-important relationship between a doctor and their patient. We don’t need to fix Obamacare, we need to fix health care.”
The decision is online at http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-114_qol1.pdf.
