Dive Brief:
- The line in the Affordable Care Act that says subsidies are allowed where marketplaces have been "established by the state" was not intended to deny subsidies to those utilizing the federal marketplace, according to those who worded the law.
- More than two dozen sources (both Democrats and Republicans) who collaborated on drafting the language described the words as inadvertent and disagreed with the premise of the plaintiffs in King v. Burwell that the line should exclude those using the federal exchange, reports the New York Times.
- Sources said the concept of denying subsidies to people using the federal exchange was never discussed and that it was contrary to the intent of those who prepared the text.
Dive Insight:
Sources say the language was a holdover from when the Senate Finance Committee, which began drafting its portion of the law in 2009, assumed that all states would set up their own exchanges.
However, the intent of those who drafted the legislation does not shield it from interpretation by the Supreme Court, which must consider the language of the law.
As the Times notes, Justice Antonin Scalia has stated that what matters is "not what Congress would have wanted, but what Congress enacted."
The court's decsion could impact more than 7.5 million people who currently receive subsidies for health plans purchased through the federal exchange.