Supreme Court Decision on ACA

The Supreme Court backed President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul on Thursday. This prevented a major challenge for the millions of Americans tied to the health insurance under the law. The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is here to stay. The judges came to a 6-3 ruling that will continue providing subsidies to low-income Americans to aid in paying for health insurance no matter what state they live in. This is the second time in three years that it has successfully passed through the Supreme Court. After hearing the news of the decision, Obama said, “This is no longer about a law. This is health care in America.” Many republican presidential candidates stated that they will continue to appeal the law, and guaranteeing it will be a talking point during their campaign. Chief Justice John Roberts was in support of the law along with his four liberal colleagues, just as it was in 2012. However, Justice Anthony Kennedy was a part of the majority this time, even though he wasn’t 3 years ago. Roberts overlooked the four words, “established by the state”, because he believed if read like how the opposition wanted it to be it would lead to a “calamitous result”. Justice Antonin Scalia had a drastically different view on the law. He even nicknamed the law SCOTUScare –using the acronym for the Supreme Court—to show his colleagues’ ownership of the law by their decision to save it twice from substantial and legitimate challenges. Of the 8.7 million who are receiving a subsidy to help pay for their monthly premium, 6.4 million would have been at high risk of losing their aid because the state they lived in didn’t set up their own insurance exchange. The point of the monthly subsidies was to help those who spent too much of their paychecks on their premiums and avoid declines in enrollment. To qualify for a MN Health Insurance Subsidy, you must be not eligible for Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and are not offered coverage through your employer. The amount of the subsidy depends on your income, where you live in MN, and ages of family members. To estimate your subsidy use our MN Health Insurance Subsidy Calculator or contact one MN Health Insurance Network’s MNSure Certified assisters to help you calculate your subsidy and select a health insurance plan to fit your needs.