Poll: Majority wants Supreme Court to uphold ObamaCare subsidies

A majority of the public wants the Supreme Court to uphold ObamaCare subsidies that help millions of people afford insurance, a new poll finds. 

{mosads}The looming case of King v. Burwell threatens subsidies that help 7.5 million people afford health coverage in the roughly three dozen states using the Affordable Care Act’s federally run marketplace. 

The Associated Press-GfK poll released Monday finds 56 percent wants the justices to rule to continue the subsidies, while 39 percent wants them invalidated for the federally run marketplaces. 

Not surprisingly, views are split by party, with two-thirds of Democrats wanting to uphold subsidies in all states, compared to 31 percent of Republicans. 

The case, with a decision expected in late June, is another threat to the law from the high court.

The public does not have much faith in the court on the issue, the poll finds. 

A plurality, 48 percent, is not confident that the court will decide the case based on “objective interpretations of the law” as opposed to the justices personal opinions of ObamaCare. Thirty-nine percent are moderately confident the court can put aside personal beliefs, and just 10 percent are extremely or very confident that they can. 

Perhaps reflecting the court’s 2012 ruling upholding the law, ObamaCare opponents have less faith in the Supreme Court on the issue than supporters of the law. Sixty percent of opponents are not confident in the court’s objectivity, compared to 44 percent of supporters of the law. 

A major question is how Congress will respond if the subsidies are struck down. 

A slim majority, 51 percent, wants Congress to amend the law to continue subsidies in all states, while 44 percent wants the law to remain as is, meaning only the subsidies are only available in states that set up their own insurance exchanges. 

Congressional Republicans have pushed aside the idea of amending the law to simply continue the subsidies in all states. They are working on a range of proposals but have yet to coalesce around one. Many of the proposals would continue the subsidies temporarily to give time for some sort of alternative to be implemented.