The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in King v. Burwell, the latest challenge to the viability of the Affordable Care Act. The petitioners, David King and others, argued that the ACAs statutory language only allows federal subsidies to be paid to lower-income individuals who purchase health insurance coverage under a health care exchange or marketplace established by a state.
The petitioners also argued that the Internal Revenue Service regulation that allows subsidies to be paid under all exchanges, regardless of whether they are established by a state or by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on a states behalf, is invalid. The federal government, in response, argued that the ACA permits subsidies to be paid in all exchanges, and that the applicable IRS regulation was authorized under the ACA.
