The Case Against Obamacare

By Katie Brinn

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a new case against the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and experts think that this time it might be in real danger.
 
What's the health insurance headache now? To understand that, you have to look back to the birth of Obamacare.
 
When Congress first drafted the Affordable Care Act, the law required everyone to buy health insurance. The idea was that each state would create a health care marketplace where their residents could compare plans and choose the ones that best fit their budgets.
 
But for many Americans, a new monthly insurance bill could be a bitter pill, so the federal government offered subsidies – or reduced monthly payments – to people who needed help.
 
Since Congress expected the states to run the marketplaces, the law says that people who signed up for health insurance through state systems would be eligible for the subsidies.
 
That's where it starts to get complicated.
 
After the Affordable Care Act passed, 36 states decided NOT to create their own health insurance exchanges. Their residents have to buy coverage through a federal marketplace instead. Since the law doesn't mention subsidies for people who enrolled in plans through this federal system, some experts thought that meant people from those 36 states should be shut out of the discounts.
 
The IRS thinks the subsidies should be for everyone, and – for now – the tax agency will still dole them out in every state. But the case has made it all the way to the Supreme Court, and experts say there's a good chance the justices might disagree … and leave millions of Americans struggling to pay their health care bills.
 
To understand what all of this will mean for you, watch the video above. Whether you think the Affordable Care Act will make a full recovery or is heading toward the light, at least you can say, "Now I Get It."