Supreme Court Upholds Health Law Subsidies

The Catalyst Center welcomes today’s Supreme Court decision in King v. Burwell, upholding the availability of tax credits and subsidies in every Health Insurance Marketplace, whether it is run by the state, the federal government or as a partnership between the two. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been the law of the land since its passage in 2010 and today’s announcement affirms it will remain so.

This decision brings relief to the approximately 6 million low- and moderate-income Americans who were at risk for losing their access to affordable coverage in the federally run Marketplaces. It offers a sense of greater security to all the children and families who have benefited from the ACA, especially those raising children with special health care needs who often experience financial hardship due to inadequate coverage or high cost-sharing. Parents will continue to be able to keep their children on their insurance plan until age 26, people with pre-existing conditions cannot be discriminated against in health insurance coverage, women cannot be charged more simply because they’re women, preventative services such as immunizations and developmental screenings will continue to be provided without cost-sharing, and annual and lifetime dollar caps will continue to be a thing of the past.

There is still more work to be done, of course. It is time now to turn our attention back to improving access to the affordable, adequate and continuous coverage children and their families need to grow, thrive and reach their full potential. Today’s decision is an important step forward on that journey and we look forward to continuing to work with our partners on achieving this goal.

To learn more about the Affordable Care Act, visit our Health Care Reform page