Millions of Americans who obtained health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, are now breathing a sigh of relief, following a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. Heartland Health Monitor’s Dan Margolies has more.
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More than 6 million lower income Americans got subsidies to help them buy health insurance on the federal marketplace, known as healthcare.gov. Without those subsidies, most of them wouldn’t be able to afford the premiums. In a 6-to-3 decision, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of subsidies obtained on those federal exchanges. That includes 70,000 people in Kansas and 200,000 in Missouri. People like Mike in Lawrence, who called a Kansas City radio talk show to say he was “ecstatic” about the court’s decision. He said he had an $18,000 doctor’s bill recently for vertigo and neuritis. “Because of this act," Mike said, "I only had to pay $2,900 of that. Previously I would have been bankrupted by debt like this.” The court’s ruling was a huge victory for President Obama, making it likely that his signature piece of domestic legislation will endure for years to come. Dan Margolies, Heartland Health Monitor