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Obamacare Subsidies Intact For 228,000 Michiganders After U.S. Supreme Court Ruling

LANSING, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - Tax subsidies for 228,000 Michigan residents with health insurance through Obamacare are intact after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a key component of the federal health care law.

Michigan was among 34 states at risk after not creating its own insurance exchange. But the court ruled in 6-3 decision Thursday that the tax credits don't hinge on where someone lives, preserving health insurance for millions of Americans.

Nationally, 10.2 million people have signed up for health insurance under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

The average monthly tax credit is $273 in Michigan.

Another 65,000 residents have insurance through the federal marketplace but don't qualify for subsidies.

They also would have been affected if the ruling had gone the other way. The individual insurance market works as a risk pool. If healthier people had been forced to drop coverage without tax credits, there would have been less money to cover the costs of the sicker people who remained.

Again voting with his liberal colleagues in support of the law, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion.

"Congress passed the Affordable Care Act to improve health insurance markets, not to destroy them," Roberts wrote. "If at all possible, we must interpret the Act in a way that is consistent with the former, and avoids the latter."

Gov. Rick Snyder says now that health insurance tax credits are intact for Michigan residents, his administration will focus on ensuring 600,000 people keep receiving expanded Medicaid coverage. The Republican said Thursday he appreciates the "deep uncertainty of this issue" being resolved.

Dr. John Ayanian, director of the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation at the University of Michigan, said this is good news for health in the state.

"We know that, particularly for people with chronic conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure, having health insurance is associated with improved health outcomes," Ayanian said.

Read more about the court's ruling on our sister site, CBSDC.com

TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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