King v. Burwell ruling will keep consumers insured (and healthy!)

Health_Care_Law.jpgThe King v. Burwell ruling in favor of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has allowed for approximately eight million consumers to keep their insurance coverage. In the King case, petitioners challenged the clause of the Affordable Care Act that stated subsidies are available to people who use an exchange “established by the State” to purchase insurance. 

Consumers living in the 34 states without state marketplaces are able to benefit from the subsidies because the Internal Revenue Service allowed people to receive assistance if they purchased a plan on the federally-run marketplace. The plaintiffs argued that subsidies by law are only given to people living in states with their own health insurance marketplaces. The ruling allows consumers in states where the marketplace is run by the federal government to keep their subsidy and insurance.

The National Consumers League (NCL) applauds the Supreme Court for upholding the ACA subsidies for consumers using the federal marketplace. The Supreme Court decision helps prevent a rise in premiums for all consumers using the health care exchange. The subsidies are a key provision of the law and they are an important part of keeping consumers insured and healthy. This decision provides hope that the ACA will face fewer political and legal obstacles in the future and can continue to provide health insurance to consumers. Despite the naysayers, the numbers speak volumes. Since the ACA’s enactment, more than 16 million Americans have been able to afford quality health insurance they did not have before.

If you do not already have health insurance, you can enroll in person, over the phone, by mail, online at Healthcare.gov, or on your state exchange’s site during the open enrollment period.