(Reuters) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the nationwide availability of tax subsidies that are crucial to the implementation of President Barack Obama's signature health care law, handing a major victory to the president.
The court ruled on a 6-3 vote that the 2010 Affordable Care Act did not restrict the subsidies to states that establish their own online health care exchanges. It marked the second time in three years that the high court ruled against a major challenge to the law brought by conservatives seeking to gut it.
• PHOTO GALLERY: THE SUPREME COURT RULES ON ACA SUBSIDIES • VIDEO: HEALTH CARE REFORM COMPLIANCE
Don't count on many states to quickly establish their own insurance exchanges to keep their residents covered if the U.S. Supreme Court this month strikes down premium subsidies in states using the federal exchange.