SCOTUS upholds Obamacare | CNN Politics

SCOTUS rules to keep Obamacare in place

Meg Wagner

Melissa Mahtani

By Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner and Melissa Mahtani, CNN

Updated 4:26 PM EDT, Thu June 17, 2021

A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 1, 2021 in Washington, DC. T

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'Significant victory': Schneider explains why Supreme Court upheld Obamacare

2:25 • Source: CNN

A general view of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 1, 2021 in Washington, DC. T

'Significant victory': Schneider explains why Supreme Court upheld Obamacare

2:25

What you need to know

The Supreme Court ruled to leave the Affordable Care Act in place, a move that will uphold health care coverage for millions of Americans.
The justices’ 7-2 decision said the GOP challengers of the 2010 law did not have the legal right to bring the case.
Several Republican-led states argued that the law’s individual mandate was unconstitutional and that every other provision of the sprawling law should fall with it.

Our live coverage has ended. Read more about the decision here.

22 Posts

Here's a reminder of what the Affordable Care Act does – and how many people it impacts

From CNN's Tami Luhby

People sit down with an insurance adviser to sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act in Miami, Florida, in 2015.

People sit down with an insurance adviser to sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act in Miami, Florida, in 2015.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Supreme Court ruled today to keep the Affordable Care Act in place, meaning the law will remain intact and millions of Americans will still have health care coverage.

Here are key things to know about the law and its impact:

What is the Affordable Care Act? The Affordable Care Act, enacted in 2010, provides Americans with essential health insurance coverage. Also known as Obamacare, it makes health insurance affordable and available to more people. One of the law’s most popular provisions is its strong protections for those with pre-existing conditions, including barring insurers from denying coverage or charging higher premiums based on people’s health histories. Nearly 54 million Americans – or 27% of non-elderly adults – have pre-existing conditions that would make them uninsurable in the individual market prior to the law, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Who does the law affect? Earlier this month, the administration announced that 31 million people have health coverage through the Affordable Care Act, including 11.3 million who had enrolled in Obamacare plans prior to the special enrollment period and 14.8 million who qualified for Medicaid expansion, which broadened the program to more low-income adults.
The pandemic’s impact: Over the past year, as the coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic downturn have gripped the nation, the Affordable Care Act has served as a safety net for Americans who’ve lost their jobs — and their health insurance along with it — and for the uninsured seeking coverage. Enrollment in both the Affordable Care Act exchanges and Medicaid have risen since the outbreak began in March 2020.
GOP challenges: Originally, Americans were charged a monetary penalty if they did not sign up for coverage. In 2017, amendments to the Affordable Care Act removed the penalty by setting the amount to $0. This contradicted a 2012 case which held that the law’s individual coverage mandate was valid under Congress’ taxing power. Therefore, many Republicans argued that since the mandate was no longer tied to a specific tax penalty, the entire law should fall.
What the Biden administration has done: Since taking office, President Biden has moved to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and embed it even more deeply in the nation’s health insurance system, including swiftly moving to overturn many of former President Trump’s efforts to chip away at the law. Biden had already reopened enrollment in the federal Obamacare exchange and beefed up marketing, outreach and assistance in signing up for policies. Increasing the number of insured Americans by strengthening the Affordable Care Act was at the heart of Biden’s health care campaign promises. And his administration is reversing Trump administration approvals of work requirements in Medicaid, which threatened to strip coverage from many people who gained it through Obamacare’s expansion of the program.

CNN’s Alyssa Kraus contributed reporting to this post.

Read more about ACA and the Supreme Court’s ruling here.

Health secretary on challenges to Obamacare: "Three strikes and you're out"

From CNN's Adrienne Vogt

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/AP

US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said the Supreme Court dismissing a challenge to the Affordable Care Act provides “peace of mind” to millions of Americans.

“The Affordable Care Act has helped us build a better health care system in America. And we’re going to continue to improve on that,” Becerra told CNN’s Ana Cabrera.

The case marked the third time the court heard a significant challenge to Obamacare.

Becerra said the Supreme Court gave a “clear signal” about Obamacare and said history books will show the court “on the right side of history.”

“Sometimes, it feels like the Supreme Court is becoming very political as well. Here, I think they gave us a clear signal — ‘look, we understand when things are working, and show us that there’s some constitutional foundation for undoing something that’s worked for tens of millions of Americans,’” he said.

Becerra said Congress can strengthen the law by permanently extending tax credits in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

“If we extend that permanently, millions of Americans will continue to have their coverage,” he said.

Obama: "The Affordable Care Act is here to stay"

Alex Edelman/AFP/Getty Images

Former President Barack Obama took to Twitter today to react to the US Supreme Court’s decision of uphold the Affordable Care Act, allowing health care coverage to continue for millions of Americans.

“This ruling reaffirms what we have long known to be true: the Affordable Care Act is here to stay,” Obama tweeted.

Biden applauds Supreme Court ACA decision, says it is a victory for Americans

From CNN's DJ Judd

Alex Wong/Getty Images

In a statement Thursday, President Biden applauded the Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision to dismiss a challenge to the Affordable Care Act.

“Today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision is a major victory for all Americans benefitting from this groundbreaking and life-changing law,” Biden writes. “It is a victory for more than 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions and millions more who were in immediate danger of losing their health care in the midst of a once-in-a-century pandemic.”

The lawsuit challenging the ACA, colloquially “Obamacare,” was brought by Republican states opposing the law and supported by former President Trump — the court’s decision marks the third time the highest court in the land has upheld Obamacare.

“Today’s decision affirms that the Affordable Care Act is stronger than ever, delivers for the American people, and gets us closer to fulfilling our moral obligation to ensure that, here in America, health care is a right and not a privilege,” it adds.

How some Democrats are reacting to the Supreme Court's ruling on Obamacare

From CNN's Alyssa Kraus

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling this morning keeping the Affordable Care Act in place, some congressional Democrats weighed in on the move to keep former President Obama’s landmark 2010 health reform law.

Remember: In its decision, the Supreme Court said the states challenging the law lacked the standing to sue and did not weigh in on the constitutionality of the Obamacare.

Still, it’s a victory for supporters of the Affordable Care Act. Here’s a look at how some congressional Democrats reacted:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Sen. Patrick Leahy

White House encourages people to enroll in health care after Supreme Court keeps ACA

From CNN's Elise Hammond

Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

The White House and President Biden tweeted a reminder that the special enrollment period for the American Care Act is open until Aug. 15, after the Supreme Court ruled to keep the law in place.

“Today’s Supreme Court ruling once again underscored the incredible strength of the ACA. A record 31 million people have enrolled in health care through the law,” the White House’s tweet said, adding that 1.2 million more signed up using the special enrollment period.

Biden also tweeted saying the ruling was a “big win for the American people.”

“With millions of people relying on the Affordable Care Act for coverage, it remains, as ever, a BFD. And it’s here to stay,” Biden added.

BFD refers to a comment Biden made about health care reform, calling it a “big f-ing deal.”

Read the tweet:

The Biden administration had asked the Supreme Court to save Obamacare

From CNN's Ariane de Vogue and Tami Luhby

The Biden administration told the Supreme Court on Feb.10 that it should uphold the Affordable Care Act, reversing the position of the Trump administration that had urged the justices to strike down the entire law amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Kneedler said the federal government now maintains that the law’s individual mandate is constitutional, but even if the court disagrees, it should sever the mandate and allow the rest of the sprawling law to stand. Such a move would maintain the status quo, as the penalty associated with the mandate has been brought down to zero.

The case was argued on Nov. 10.

The letter marked one of the most substantive reversals the Biden administration has taken, but it did not mean the case would go away. It was originally brought by Republican attorneys general, and the Trump administration later joined on.

The challengers argued that the law’s individual mandate is unconstitutional and that every other provision of the sprawling 900 page law should fall with it. California, joined by other Democratic-led states, as well as the House of Representatives, supports the law and has urged the justices to leave it in place.

The lawsuit concerned a move Congress made in 2017 to cut the penalty for those who lacked insurance to zero as part of the year-end tax overhaul. Critics raced to court arguing that the Supreme Court in 2012 had upheld the law under Congress’ tax power, therefore, since the mandate is no longer tied to a specific tax penalty, it has lost its legal underpinning.

Read more about the letter and Biden’s executive actions on health care here.

SCOTUS leaving Obamacare in place sends message to "get this out" of the court, Andy Slavitt says

From CNN's Adrienne Vogt

Andy Slavitt, former acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the Obama administration, said the Supreme Court leaving the Affordable Care Act in place sends a message of “get this out of my court once and for all.”

“I think it’s great news for people have been in a whirlwind over the last 10 years, being told to just be nervous that their coverage might be snatched from them at any moment. So Americans can rest easier,” said Slavitt, former Biden White House senior adviser for Covid-19 response.

Slavitt said he has not heard directly from the President but has gotten texts from staffers.

“The definitiveness of the ruling, I think, sends a very strong message to all those folks,” he said.

Pelosi calls the Supreme Court ruling a "landmark victory"

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted on the Supreme Court ruling keeping the Affordable Care Act in place.

She called it a “landmark victory for Democrats’ work to defend protections for people with pre-existing conditions against Republicans’ relentless efforts to dismantle them.”

In a released statement, she added :

Roughly 31 million Americans have coverage due to the Affordable Care Act

From CNN's Tami Luhby

The Affordable Care Act remains the law of the land.

The Supreme Court’s dismissal Thursday of the latest Republican-led challenge to the landmark health reform law, widely known as Obamacare, leaves in place the existing system.

The act, which has survived multiple Republican attempts to tear it down in the 11 years since it was signed, has had a sweeping impact on the nation’s health care system and on the lives of tens of millions of Americans.

Roughly 31 million people have coverage thanks to the Affordable Care Act, including through the Obamacare exchanges and the expansion of Medicaid to low-income adults. The law also allows parents to keep their children on their health insurance plans until age 26 and enables patients to obtain free mammograms, cholesterol checks and birth control.

One of the law’s most popular provisions is its strong protections for those with pre-existing conditions, including barring insurers from denying coverage or charging higher premiums based on people’s health histories.

Nearly 54 million Americans — or 27% of non-elderly adults — have pre-existing conditions that would make them uninsurable in the individual market prior to the law, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. As many as 133 million Americans could have been denied coverage, had their benefits delayed or curtailed or had to pay more for individual market policies because of their medical backgrounds, according to an Obama administration report.

Over the past year, as the coronavirus pandemic and resulting economic downturn have gripped the nation, the Affordable Care Act has served as a safety net for Americans who’ve lost their jobs — and their health insurance along with it — and for the uninsured seeking coverage. Enrollment in both the Affordable Care Act exchanges and Medicaid have risen since the outbreak began in March 2020.

Read more about ACA and the Supreme Court’s ruling here.

Senate majority leader celebrates ACA being "here to stay"

From CNN's Ali Zaslav

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks with reporters on Wednesday, June 16.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks with reporters on Wednesday, June 16.

Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer celebrated the Supreme Court ruling Thursday leaving the Affordable Care Act intact.

“Let me say definitively, the Affordable Care Act has won. The Supreme Court has just ruled: the ACA is here to stay,” he said in floor remarks.

“Ever since Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act, expanding health coverage and access to tens of millions of Americans, we’ve had to fight tooth and nail to preserve the law from partisan Republican attacks,” he said.

Today's ruling gives Biden the chance "to build" on the Affordable Care Act, CNN's David Chalian says

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

With the Supreme Court decision on Affordable Care Act, President Biden has an opportunity to put forth a plan to expand it as he suggested during his presidential campaign, CNN Political Director David Chalian says.

In 2019, then presidential candidate Biden had presented an approach to Obamacare, which involved expanding and fixing the program, not scrapping it.

There has already been some expansion to the ACA under the Biden administration with the Covid-19 relief act earlier this year, “dealing with lowering some of the premiums, and making sure subsidies are greater for people during this time of economic recovery. So we’ve seen some approach. But there’s more to come from the Biden administration,” Chalian explained.

“Getting this ruling from the Supreme Court, that solidifies yet again, the ACA’s position in American politics, gives Biden that opportunity now to build on it,” he said.

This is the third time the court heard a challenge to the ACA. Here's how we got here.

From CNN's Delano Massey

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

California v. Texas marks the third time the court heard a significant challenge to the Affordable Care Act, although the stakes were heightened given the implications of Covid-19, the catastrophic deaths and the current burdens facing the health care industry.

Texas and other Republican-led states, with the support of the Trump administration, challenged the law which was defended by California and other Democratic-led states plus the House of Representatives

2012: Roberts cast the key vote in a 5-4 decision that stunned Republicans, holding that the law’s individual coverage mandate was valid under Congress’ taxing power.
By 2017: The Republican-led Congress cut the tax penalty for those who lacked insurance to zero as part of the year-end tax overhaul.

The Republican-led states supported by the Trump administration sued, arguing that since the mandate was no longer tied to a specific tax penalty, it had lost its legal underpinning. They also argued that because the individual mandate was intertwined with a multitude of other provisions, the entire law should fall, including protections for people with preexisting conditions.

The decision today: On Thursday, two of Trump’s nominees agreed that the challengers had no no standing. Justice Neil Gorsuch did not.

In December of 2019, a federal appeals court held that the individual mandate was unconstitutional. But critically, the court punted on whether the rest of the massive law – even provisions unrelated to the mandate – could remain on the books.

In court, Texas Solicitor General Kyle D. Hawkins said the 2017 change made the individual mandate unconstitutional.

“It is a naked command to purchase health insurance, and, as such, it falls outside Congress’ enumerated powers,” he said. “The proper course is to take Congress at its word and declare the mandate unconstitutional and inseverable from the remainder of the ACA,” he said.

Then Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall sided with Texas on the issue, arguing that the mandate “exceeded” Congress’ powers.

SCOTUS leaving Obamacare in place is a "victory" for Justice John Roberts, CNN analyst says

From CNN's Adrienne Vogt

Chief Justice John Roberts listens to President Joe Biden address a joint session of Congress on April 28.

Chief Justice John Roberts listens to President Joe Biden address a joint session of Congress on April 28.

Melina Mara/Pool/Getty Images

The Supreme Court dismissing a challenge to the Affordable Care Act “is really a victory for Chief Justice John Roberts and for the Roberts court,” according to Joan Biskupic, CNN Supreme Court analyst.

Justice Stephen Breyer took a “big role here,” with only Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissenting, she said.

The opinion “tries to close the door finally on these three different challenges — 2012, 2015 and now. And the dissenters said, it’s as if it’s being rewritten by the court, but it’s not. It’s saying this was an unrealistic challenge, shouldn’t have been brought in the first place, goodbye, maybe forever now,” she said.

Supreme Court rules in favor of Catholic foster care agency that refused to work with same sex couples

From CNN's Ariane de Vogue

The Supreme Court also ruled on another big case on Thursday, saying that Philadelphia violated the First Amendment when it froze the contract of a Catholic Foster Care Agency that refused to work with same sex couples as potential foster parents because the agency believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion. The count was 9-0 although the justices differed in their reasoning.

More on the case: At issue was a major dispute pitting claims of religious liberty against the LGBTQ community. Supporters of LGBTQ rights supported the city, arguing it was within its rights to freeze the contract to an organization receiving taxpayer funds and turning away same sex couples. They feared that a decision in favor of CSS would clear the way for religious organizations to get exemptions from non-discrimination laws in other contexts.

Supporters of expanding religious liberty rights hoped the court’s conservative majority, expanding upon a trend from last term, would continue to hold the government to a higher standard when it comes to regulations that impact religious believers.

The Supreme Court's ruling on Obamacare, explained by a CNN legal analyst

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

As the Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, the justices said that the challengers of the 2010 law did not have the legal right to bring the case.

CNN’s chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin explains what the ruling means:

The Supreme Court has said that the states were not injured by the fact that Obamacare gave health insurance to these people funded by the federal government, Toobin explained.

“By deciding the case on standing, they avoid all those complicated legal issues, which are very politically fraught,” he said.

What happens now, according to Toobin: “I have no doubt that the conservative states and people in the conservative states and the politicians in the conservative states will figure out another way to challenge the law. They will find a plaintiff who does have standing, and this will all start working its way through the courts again. So this is a huge, huge victory for Obamacare. But it is not the end of the story on legal challenges to Obamacare.”

Here's how all of the justices voted

From CNN's Elise Hammond

Erin Schaff/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote the majority opinion to leave the Affordable Care Act in place. He was joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented.

In the majority opinion Breyer wrote, “For these reasons, we conclude that the plaintiffs in this suit failed to show a concrete, particularized injury fairly traceable to the defendants’ conduct in enforcing the specific statutory provision they attack as unconstitutional. They have failed to show that they have standing to attack as unconstitutional the Act’s minimum essential coverage provision.”

The dissenting justices said in their opinion that the “penalty is a tax.”

"This is a significant victory for the Biden administration," CNN justice reporter says

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

The Supreme Court’s ruling to leave Affordable Care Act in place is a significant victory for the millions of Americans who have gained health care coverage under the act and for the Biden administration, CNN’s Justice Correspondent Jessica Schneider says.

Read more about today’s ruling here.

Here's how Justice Breyer ended the court's decision to leave Obamacare in place

Justice Stephen Breyer.

Justice Stephen Breyer.

Erin Schaff/Pool/Getty Images

The Supreme Court has ruled to leave the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare in place.

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote the decision, that six other justices backed.

In the case, several Republican-led states argued that the law’s individual mandate was unconstitutional and that every other provision of the sprawling law should fall with it. But Breyer wrote those challenging the law “failed to show that they have standing to attack as unconstitutional the Act’s minimum essential coverage provision.”

Here’s how Breyer put it:

Read the full SCOTUS opinion

The Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the Affordable Care Act on Thursday in a decision that will leave the law intact and save health care for millions of Americans.

The justices turned away a challenge from republican led states and the former Trump administration who urged the justices to block the entire law.

The justices said that the challengers of the 2010 law did not have the legal right to bring the case.

Justice Stephen Breyer penned the decision that was 7-2. Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented.

Read the full opinion here:

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