Supreme Court upholds federal subsidies for health insurance

The Supreme Court ruled last week that the premium subsidies created by the Affordable Care Act, which are essential to making coverage affordable to millions, will continue to be available in states where the federal government manages health insurance marketplaces.

The case King v. Burwell considered whether residents of 34 states that did not run their own health insurance exchanges but instead relied on a federal program could accept subsidies that would help them afford health care. In March, the College joined with other health advocacy organizations in an amicus brief urging the court to uphold the subsidies, because a ruling against them would pose dangers for patient care and the health and well-being of all Americans.

In a statement, ACP President Wayne J. Riley, MD, MPH, MBA, MACP, said, “We are thrilled and gratified by the Court's ruling, which affirms that the citizens of all 50 states will have the opportunity to access either a state or federal exchange to obtain subsidies to purchase health insurance policies which benefits themselves, their families and loved ones.”

“The Supreme Court could have ruled more narrowly, upholding the subsidies as a reasonable exercise of the IRS's administrative authority to implement a statute when the wording [is] unclear,” wrote Robert B. Doherty, ACP's senior vice president of government affairs and public policy. “Had it gone that way, a new President and his or her administration could have reinterpreted the statute so that the subsidies would no longer apply in states with federally-facilitated marketplaces. Instead, it issued a definite ruling that the law requires that the premium subsidies apply everywhere.”