The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to hear a new challenge to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to multiple media sources.
The case, King v. Burwell, No. 14-114, focuses on whether the law authorizes subsidies that help millions of low- and middle-income people afford their health insurance premiums.
Those opposing the law claim that these subsidies are not available in the states that have decided not to run the marketplaces for insurance coverage known as exchanges, which are instead run by the federal government in those states. Only 14 states have chosen to offer their own exchanges. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., ruled against the challengers this past July.
However, on the same day, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled for those challenging the law -- that is, that only people in states that run their own exchanges are eligible for subsidies.
