The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the Affordable Care Act means that 130,000 Alabamians will keep subsidies to buy insurance through exchanges.
An advocacy group for low-income families cheered the Thursday ruling that subsidies will continue in the 34 states, including Alabama, that did not establish their own insurance exchanges.
Jim Carnes of Alabama Arise said the decision was a “nail-biter” because of the potential loss of insurance for people. He hopes the decision will pave the way for Medicaid expansion for people too poor to qualify for subsidies.
Governor Robert Bentley said he was disappointed in the ruling, calling it a judicial overstep and saying the Affordable Care Act is deeply flawed.
“I believe the ACA is, at its core, enormously expensive for families and businesses and does little to address the health care issues we face in our state and nation,” Bentley said in a statement.
Bentley has so far declined to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
Photo by 401(K) 2013 
