Majority Still Want Health Insurance Subsidies By Brenda Neugent
According to a new poll, insurance subsidies are an important part of the Affordable Care Act. If the Supreme Court rules to erase the subsidies in some states, Americans believe Congress should act to restore them.
The nation’s highest court is set to hear King v. Burwell. The lawsuit argues that wording of the Affordable Care Act, suggests that financial assistance is only available to the 13 states that have an online exchange. Meaning the 27 states using the federal Healthcare.gov site would lose the subsidies if the Supreme Court agrees.
A decision, in this case, is expected in June. However, according to a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the majority of Americans (although more Democrats than Republicans) want Congress to reinstate the subsidies in every state if the court rules against them.
A majority also said that states should create their own exchanges to ensure that subsidies remained available for those who needed financial assistance to cover the cost of insurance.
If the court rules to invalidate the subsidies, Congressional Republicans say they are preparing their own health care law as an alternative.
The poll found that only a fraction of those living in states that are at risk of losing subsidies were aware of the upcoming court case.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, states an estimated 7 million people are signed up for health insurance coverage through the federal marketplace, and 87 percent of them are eligible for subsidies.
