Supreme Court Upholds Federal Subsidies for Obamacare

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Image: The nine justices of the U.S. Supreme court.

By MARY ANN BARTON

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Thursday that it has sided with the Obama administration over its major healthcare overhaul, upholding federal subsidies across the country.

In a 6-3 ruling, the nation’s highest court ruled that critics’ reading of Obamacare might make sense in isolation, but not when viewed in a larger context and in light of the intention of the law, according to ABC News.

It’s the second time the high court, ABC News points out, and Chief Justice John Roberts has backed controversial portions of Obamacare. The first ruling was in 2012. Read a transcript of the March 4 oral argument here.

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., released the following statement after the Supreme Court issued its decision in King v. Burwell, ruling that individuals who get their health insurance through exchanges established by the federal government will remain eligible for tax subsidies:

“Today’s 6-3 decision preserves affordable health care coverage for more than 300,000 Virginians who purchased coverage through the federal exchange,” Warner said.

“This is the second time the nation’s highest court has validated our country’s important shift toward affordable and accessible health care for everyone,” he said. “I consistently have said there are many ways we could improve the Affordable Care Act. I really hope today’s ruling allows us as a country to move beyond divisive attacks and come together to work to improve health care quality, access, and affordability.”

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said: “I applaud the Supreme Court for its decision to uphold the important tax credits that millions of Americans - including nearly 300,000 in Virginia - rely on to access high quality, affordable health care. The decision is a direct rejection of the heartless effort led by health care law opponents to push families – many of whom have insurance coverage for the first time - back into the ranks of the vulnerable uninsured.”

Gov. Terry McAuliffe also weighed in: “This historic decision is a victory for the 286,000 Virginians who will now keep affordable health care that is essential to economic success,” he said. “It is also a clear sign that now is the time to drop cynical efforts to prevent families from accessing care that will make their lives better. With this issue decided, I hope we can now put partisan politics aside and help 400,000 Virginians get access to health care by bringing our taxpayer dollars home to close the coverage gap.”

U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., issued a statement as well: “Today’s 6-3 U.S. Supreme Court decision upholds the right of the federal government to provide subsidies for health insurance to millions of eligible lower-and-middle-income Americans in 34 states, including my own, where Republican legislators for purely political reasons have refused to create state exchanges. This is great news.

“Maybe this decisive victory for the Affordable Care Act will convince Republican legislators in Virginia and across the nation, who have repeatedly voted against the best interests of their constituents who cannot afford health insurance without tax credit subsidies, to do the right thing,” he said.

“The Court’s decision is a collective sigh of relief for millions of Virginians and Americans who would have lost their health insurance under the Affordable Care Act simply because they live in states where Republicans have blocked the creation of state health insurance exchanges,” Connolly said.

“Now that Republican opponents of the ACA have been thwarted by the Supreme Court in their effort to kill health insurance subsidies for millions of Americans, maybe Republican legislators in Virginia and the 35 other states that have refused to create state exchanges will see the light and start accepting the billions of federal dollars they are rejecting in their futile effort to destroy the ACA,” Connolly said.