ACA Supreme Court Ruling: NLN Capitol Connection Special

Supreme Court Upholds the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
The Supreme Court today issued a ruling in King v. Burwell, a major challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The 6-3 decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts ensures that consumers purchasing health insurance on exchanges set up in 34 states will continue to be able to do so.

The case centered on the legality of health insurance tax credits offered through a federally run health insurance marketplace, as opposed to a marketplace established by an individual state. The ACA required states to create "exchanges” – essentially, marketplaces – for their residents to buy health insurance. Thirty-four states opted to let the federal government set up the exchange in their respective states. Of the more than six million people who have purchased insurance through the federal exchange, almost 90 percent of them have received the subsidy. Many could not afford insurance without it.

By upholding the ACA, the residents residing in states with exchanges established by the federal government will continue to receive their subsidies and continue to afford health insurance.

A good place for additional information is from Kaiser Health News. »