Report: 8.2M people would lose health insurance if Affordable Care Act subsidies are cut

About 8.2 million people would lose health insurance if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a key element of the Affordable Care Act this year.

That is according to a new report by the Urban Institute related to the court case that is being handled in coming months by the nation's highest court.

The case hinges on determining the legality of legality of spending federal dollars to subsidize health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

Placing those 8.2 million people among the uninsured, which reflects a 44 percent increase, would also play a major role in eliminating about $29 billion worth of tax credits and related aid the federal government is paying out for the ACA subsidies, the report shows. That money is going for subsidies in 34 states using the federal government ACA health insurance marketplaces, called exchanges.

New York runs a state-run ACA exchange, but would still be affected because the 2010 health reform law would be significantly hobbled if the Supreme Court eliminated the subsidies.

Here is the Urban Institute report on the potential game-changing effects of the case.

Here is an Albany Business Review story about renewed political and legal battles over the Affordable Care Act.