--- title: Supreme Court’s Obamacare Decision Could Cost Americans Plenty | TIME description: If the justices determine in King v. Burwell that subsidies can’t be offered on the federal exchange, more than 6 million people will lose financial help in paying for premiums. canonical: https://time.com/video/hQH57aad/ og:title: Supreme Court’s Obamacare Decision Could Cost Americans Plenty og:description: If the justices determine in King v. Burwell that subsidies can’t be offered on the federal exchange, more than 6 million people will lose financial help in paying for premiums. og:url: https://time.com/video/hQH57aad/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/hQH57aad/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Supreme Court’s Obamacare Decision Could Cost Americans Plenty twitter:description: If the justices determine in King v. Burwell that subsidies can’t be offered on the federal exchange, more than 6 million people will lose financial help in paying for premiums. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/hQH57aad/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Supreme Court’s Obamacare Decision Could Cost Americans Plenty > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Supreme Court’s Obamacare Decision Could Cost Americans Plenty [Watch (HLS stream): Supreme Court’s Obamacare Decision Could Cost Americans Plenty](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hQH57aad.m3u8) (1:57)  _Published 2015-06-05. If the justices determine in King v. Burwell that subsidies can’t be offered on the federal exchange, more than 6 million people will lose financial help in paying for premiums._ --- Jul 27, 2023 6:22 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [How Supreme Court Justices Responded to a Lawsuit That Could Upend the Internet](/video/YIevRQka/) ### How Supreme Court Justices Responded to a Lawsuit That Could Upend the Internet [The Supreme Court's Latest Decision Could Embolden Partisan Gerrymandering](/video/yHcqeHjh/) ### The Supreme Court's Latest Decision Could Embolden Partisan Gerrymandering [Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare Tax Subsidies](/video/N52WtovW/) ### Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare Tax Subsidies --- ## Transcript The Affordable Care Act is once again before the Supreme Court. This time it's not about whether the government can force you to have health insurance or pay a penalty. It can, that's so 2012. Now, in the case of King v Burwell, the meaning of six words in a 1, 000 page law is under scrutiny. Those words can determine whether millions of Americans can afford to buy health insurance. The law states, that people who sign up for health coverage through " an Exchange established by the State" qualify for government subsidies. But what is an exchange established by the state, you ask? The Obama administration says it's every insurance marketplace set up by a government. That includes the federal government's healthcare. gov. It's used by the residents of about three dozen states, but the lawsuit argues it's only the 16 states and the District of Columbia that set up their own marketplaces. If the challengers win, more than 6 million Americans would lose the Subsidies that have helped them afford health insurance. So if you bought your policy through healthcare. gov, the federal exchange, you'd no longer receive financial help. What does this mean for the health insurance system? Healthier people would likely drop coverage if they lose financial help, which means insurers would raise premiums because they'd be covering fewer but sicker people. That would impact everyone who buys their own insurance in those States. Of course, Congress could step in to clarify the confusing words, but many think that's unlikely. Or some states might decide to create their own state- based insurance marketplaces, but that's not something that can happen overnight. The Justices are expected to deliver their decision in late June. Just as the 2016 Presidential campaign is kicking into high gear. So keep your eyes and ears open because this decision could affect you. For more information, go to khn. org / kingvburwell ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Supreme Court’s Obamacare Decision Could Cost Americans Plenty","description":"If the justices determine in King v. 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