On June 25, 2015, The Supreme Court upheld in a 6-3 decision that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance subsidies, under President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul, will remain available to all Americans.
Opponents to the Obamacare argued that the Act’s language is ambiguous and allows subsidies to be used in marketplaces “established by the state,” which they believed excluded those on the federal marketplace. Defenders of the state argued that opponents were taking the four-word clause, “established by the state”, out of context and the act clearly is intended to provide insurance subsidies for all Americans, not just to those who live in states with established exchanges.
The Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) subsidies are designed to help U.S. residents purchase insurance on the federal exchange. This ruling will allow eligible individuals living in states without exchanges to purchase affordable health insurance through federal exchanges. To date, 34 states use the federal marketplace, also known as the HealthCare.gov website, with an estimated 6.4 million people receiving subsidies to help purchase health insurance.