Now is the time for employers to focus on next steps.
Yesterday, the US Supreme Court, in a 6–3 decision, held
that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations issued in 2012
under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) properly permit all qualified
participants in an Exchange to receive premium assistance for their
health insurance coverage—regardless of whether the Exchange
was established by a state or is instead a federally facilitated
Exchange. Thus, the decision permits the ACA's current
structure to continue.
The majority opinion, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts,
Jr., reasoned that although the petitioners' plain-meaning
arguments were strong, the ACA's context and structure
compelled the conclusion that the ACA allows tax credits for
insurance purchased on any Exchange created under the ACA because
those credits are necessary for the federal Exchanges to function
like their state Exchange counterparts, thus avoiding the type of
calamitous result that
