WPRO News
Rhode Island Democrats are reacting positively to the Supreme Court’s decision keep federal tax subsidies intact as a part of the Affordable Care Act.
The nine justices voted Thursday 6-3 in favor of keeping the subsidies intact.
Congressman Jim Langevin applauded the decision but said GOP opposition prevented the law from being fixed legislatively.
“It would’ve been a death spiral for the affordable care act had they ruled the other way,” said Lagevin.
While the decision would not have directly affected Rhode Island, as Healthsource RI operates as its own independent marketplace, Secretary of the Rhode Island Department of Health and Human Service, Elizabeth Roberts says the decision could have spelled trouble for the Ocean State.
“There was a big question if the case had gone the other way and we had not continued Healthsource Rhode Island as a [state] based exchange, then we like people throughout the country were at risk of losing subsidies that made coverage affordable,” said Roberts.
