--- description: Here's what you need to know about the Supreme Court's latest Obamacare case, King v. Burwell. title: A Guide to the Supreme Court's Latest Obamacare Case image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb53326d3430b7e80/698858013c163962cf458860/supreme-court-king-burwell.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Supreme Court](/tag/supreme-court/) ## Supreme Court Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Guide to the Supreme Court's Latest Obamacare Case by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/), [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) and [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) Jun 24, 2015 5:38 PM CUT  Cassie Boyle, 8, and her sister Helena Roberts, 11, of Pittsburgh, hold a picture of their father Ray Roberts and grandmother Hannah Brown, at a rally outside of the Supreme Court during arguments in the King v. Burwell case which deals with tax credits in the Affordable Care Act, March 4, 2015. Cassie Boyle, 8, and her sister Helena Roberts, 11, of Pittsburgh, hold a picture of their father Ray Roberts and grandmother Hannah Brown, at a rally outside of the Supreme Court during arguments in the King v. Burwell case which deals with tax credits in the Affordable Care Act, March 4, 2015.Tom Williams—2015 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/), [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) and [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) Jun 24, 2015 5:38 PM CUT If you’re most Americans, you haven’t been paying attention to the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on Obamacare. A recent poll from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that [72 percent of Americans ](http://time.com/3922547/supreme-court-obamacare-ruling-poll/ "undefined")had heard little or nothing about a lawsuit which could dramatically transform how the Affordable Care Act is implemented. A decision in _King v. Burwell_ could come as early as Thursday. That means you probably have questions. Here are some answers. **Could the court decision end Obamacare?** No. Unlike the Supreme Court’s [big 2012 decision](http://swampland.time.com/2012/06/28/supreme-court-upholds-obamacare-in-landmark-decision/ "undefined") on the law’s mandate that you buy health insurance, this case doesn’t have a big constitutional question at its heart. The only issue for the court is a narrow technical question about how the law was worded. **So, what is the court deciding?** The case revolves around whether people who live in states that use the federal[ Healthcare.gov](http://healthcare.gov/ "undefined") website — and not their own state-run marketplace — can receive subsidies for their insurance costs. Conservatives who filed the suit say the law doesn’t allow that, while liberal defenders argue that section of the law was just poorly worded. **Who will the decision affect?** The Obama Administration estimates that [6.4 million Americans in 34 states](http://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2015-Fact-sheets-items/2015-06-02.html "undefined") would be at risk of losing the subsidies that made their insurance affordable if the Supreme Court rules against it. Other customers could also see higher prices if the decision adversely affects the insurance market in their state. **Which states would be affected?** Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. **What will the Administration do if the court rules against it?** The Administration says it has no “plan B.” Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, who is named in the case, has [repeatedly argued](http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/21/politics/sylvia-burwell-obamacare-court/ "undefined") that the President’s hands are tied. That means Obama will have to rely on Congress or the states to fix the problem. ### See Ruth Bader Ginsburg Grow from Toddler to Supreme Court Justice  August 2, 1935 Childhood photograph of Ruth Bader taken when she was two years old. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States  1948 Ruth Bader delivers a sermon as camp Rabbi at the age of 15, at Che-Na-Wah camp in Minerva, N.Y. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States  December, 1953 Studio photograph of Ruth Bader, taken in Dec. 1953 when she was a Senior at Cornell University. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States  Fall, 1954 Martin D. Ginsburg and Ruth Bader Ginsburg taken in the fall while Martin Ginsburg served in the Army, before being drafted, stationed at Artillery Village in Fort Sill, Okla. Martin Ginsburg was drafted into the Army in 1954. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States  Summer 1958 Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Martin Ginsburg play with their three-year old daughter, Jane, in her bedroom at Martin's parents' home in Rockville Centre, N.Y Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States  Fall 1980 Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg during her first term as a United States Circuit Judge to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States  December, 1980 Ruth Bader Ginsburg, her husband Martin Ginsburg, and their children James and Jane in a boat off the shore of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States  1972 Ruth Bader Ginsburg with her husband Martin at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.V. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States  Oct. 1, 1993 Informal portrait of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg standing before the mantle in the Justices' Dining Room in Washington. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States  August 10, 1993 Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. From left to right stand President Bill Clinton, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Martin Ginsburg, and Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States  Official portrait of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Steve Petteway—Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States **What will Congress do?** It’s hard to say. Republicans control both the House and the Senate, and they’re generally opposed to the Affordable Care Act. But many GOP lawmakers [think Congress](http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/senate-republicans-obamacare-scotus-fix-119121.html "undefined") will need to do something. One possibility would be to simply extend the subsidies through 2017, to allow a new — and possibly Republican — president come up with a long-term solution. But Republicans may also want some concessions from President Obama in exchange, such as ending the requirement that individuals buy health insurance. Obama is unlikely to sign a bill that chips away at major features of the law, however. **What happens if Congress doesn’t act?** The problem will fall to the states. Unlike Congress, there’s no simple fix. States would have to start the laborious process of creating their own insurance marketplaces or else find some workaround, like officially designating the federal Healthcare.gov site as their own or borrowing another state’s marketplace. It’s unclear at this point what the options may even be. **Do the states have a plan?** Most do not. Pennsylvania and Delaware have put together plans to create their own exchanges by next year, which would allow residents to continue getting subsidies. But with 26 of the 34 states led by Republican governors — many of whom are opposed to Obamacare — [few states have been planning ahead](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/22/us/politics/states-take-few-steps-to-fill-gap-if-supreme-court-blocks-health-subsidies.html "undefined"). **What do the 2016 presidential candidates think should be done?** The Democratic presidential candidates will likely argue for Congress to pass a simple fix with no strings attached, although former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [has not said](http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/06/14/hillary-clinton-extra-burden-president-jennifer-jacobs-des-moines-register-interview-iowa-state-fairgrounds/71224966/ "undefined") exactly what she would propose. The GOP field is divided, but several support some sort of transition period to extend the subsidies long enough to allow the next (possibly Republican) president to have the final say. That would make the future of the Affordable Care Act a major campaign issue for the fourth consecutive election. **Read Next:** [_How Obamacare Has Impacted The Uninsured Rate_](http://time.com/3932310/obamacare-uninsured-americans/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3933915/supreme-court-king-burwell/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3933915/supreme-court-king-burwell/"},"headline":"A Guide to the Supreme Court's Latest Obamacare Case","datePublished":"2015-06-24T17:38:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:38.892Z","description":"What you need to know","url":"https://time.com/3933915/supreme-court-king-burwell/","keywords":["Supreme Court","Obamacare","2016 Election topic","Congress","Affordable Care Act"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb53326d3430b7e80/698858013c163962cf458860/supreme-court-king-burwell.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Teague Beckwith","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb53326d3430b7e80/698858013c163962cf458860/supreme-court-king-burwell.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cassie Boyle, 8, and her sister Helena Roberts, 11, of Pittsburgh, hold a picture of their father Ray Roberts and grandmother Hannah Brown, at a rally outside of the Supreme Court during arguments in the King v. Burwell case which deals with tax credits","caption":"Cassie Boyle, 8, and her sister Helena Roberts, 11, of Pittsburgh, hold a picture of their father Ray Roberts and grandmother Hannah Brown, at a rally outside of the Supreme Court during arguments in the King v. Burwell case which deals with tax credits","creditText":"Tom Williams—2015 CQ-Roll Call, Inc.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/supreme-court/","name":"Supreme Court"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3933915/supreme-court-king-burwell/","name":"A Guide to the Supreme Court's Latest Obamacare Case"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"March of TIME: The Supreme Court","description":"In this March of TIME newsreel from April 1937, President Roosevelt confronts a Supreme Court with none of the justices willing to retire","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/xAtcYVk3/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2009-07-10T21:47:44.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xAtcYVk3.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3933915/supreme-court-king-burwell/","duration":"PT2M44S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3933915/supreme-court-king-burwell/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```