If the court agrees — a decision is expected in June — subsidies will disappear in states that do not have their own online marketplaces, almost all of which have Republican-led governments that oppose the law and have resisted creating state exchanges. No state would be more affected than Florida, where more than 1.6 million people have insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act, the most in the nation, and almost all of them receive subsidies.
Yet there is little talk of a Plan B here, such as creating a state-run exchange where subsidies would still be available, if the Supreme Court strikes down the subsidy program. Asked about the case last month at the American Action Forum, a conservative advocacy group, Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, said, “This is not my program.” He added, “It’s a federal problem.”
Will Governor Scott and other Republicans face a backlash from subsidy recipients if the lawsuit succeeds? The answer is far from clear.
Lourdes Alcaniz, 53, a single mother of four who was uninsured for years before getting subsidized coverage last year, said she “absolutely” would hold Republicans responsible if she lost her subsidy of $240 per month. Without it, she said, she could not begin to afford her health plan.
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