“SCOTUS [Supreme Court] rules 6-3, upholding the subsidies under Obamacare, even in states that use a federal exchange,” NPR News said in a Twitter message.
The Supreme Court began hearing arguments in the King v. Burwell case that challenged the legality of the subsidies on March 4, 2015.
The lawsuit argued the phrase "an exchange established by the state" in Obamacare means the US government should not be able to give subsidies to people living in those states that did not establish health insurance exchanges under state law.
Currently, low- and moderate-income residents in 37 US states that have opted out of Obamacare’s healthcare exchanges receive about $260 in subsidies through the federal exchange, according to the US Health and Human Services.
US President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010, in a bid to make healthcare in the United States more affordable.
Obama argued that, prior to the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, the United States had an inefficient and wasteful healthcare system that did not always deliver high-quality health care.
Republicans say that despite the president’s promises, US citizens were not able to keep their original healthcare plans or their doctors, and taxpayers continue to be hit by rising costs, decreased quality of care and less healthcare providers choices.
At present, two US government programs implemented through Obamacare, Medicare and Medicaid, provide insurance to 123 million US citizens, according to the White House.
