DHAKA: The US Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a disputed portion of President Barack Obama’s landmark health care reform, in a major legacy-building victory for his administration.

By a margin of six to three, the judges ruled in favor of allowing the federal government to subsidize health insurance by giving tax credits to consumers nationwide.

Opponents of the Affordable Care Act - better known as ‘Obamacare’ - had argued that it was unconstitutional for the federal government to subsidize insurance.

More than six million Americans who signed up for policies through exchanges set up in states that did not set up their own could have lost their coverage, but the judges ruled that the law should stand.

BDST: 2114 HRS, JUN 25, 2015
RR