Ohio Democrats are rejoicing, while Republicans are vowing to continue to fight after a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday upheld the Affordable Care Act’s structure for providing subsidies to middle and low income health consumers.

The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in favor of the Obama Administration preserves health insurance subsidies for more than 160,000 Ohioans and 228,000 in Michigan.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, at least 10,496 people in the Toledo area have signed up for health coverage on the health insurance marketplace.

Those who work with health consumers, hospital systems, and insurance companies, by and large expressed relief that the court upheld the federal health tax credits, despite arguments by the plaintiffs in the case that this is not specified in the law.

Toledo insurance agent David Spiess said although he has not been a huge fan of the health law, he was concerned that if the court rejected the subsidies it would have been extremely expensive and cumbersome for each state to try to create its own health exchange.

Mr. Spiess said he has helped about 400 local residents obtain insurance in the marketplace and about 75 percent of them receive some type of federal subsidy.

“A fair number of them probably would have dropped their coverage because they couldn’t afford it,” he said.

Going forward, Mr. Spiess said the federal government needs to tackle the sticky issue of grandfathering in people who had private insurance before Obamacare became law. 

“There will be some major sticker shock if they are forced to be fully compliant with the ACA,” he said.

Local physician Moshir Jacob also said he’s relieved, but added he was not surprised the court kept the subsidies

“From the beginning I didn't think Obamacare was the right way to handle it ...,” said Dr. Jacob, medical director of the Toledo Clinic.

“The main point was helping those families who cannot afford the premiums. I would assume that if the court struck it down there would have been a big revolt and a lot of individuals, even those with silver level plans, would not have been able to afford them,” he added.

The Ohio Hospital Association, which represents 219 hospitals and 13 health systems throughout the state, also applauded the court’s ruling.

“The health of all Ohioans depends on access to affordable health care coverage. Today’s ruling is vital for Ohio consumers, providers, and the ongoing sustainability of the health insurance market,” Mike Abrams, president and CEO of the organization, said in a written statement.

Calling the court’s ruling a very “practical decision,” Rebecca Zietlow, a University of Toledo law professor, said Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion, did not want the court to be attacked.

In addition to weighing the legality, the court was also concerned about the ramifications of its decision, she said.

“It would have been perceived that they were destroying the Affordable Care Act. While some people have never liked it, most people want the subsidies to continue and have access to health insurance,” Ms. Zietlow said.

Many Republicans decried the court’s decision as political and announced plans to continue efforts to repeal the law in Congress. U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (R., Bowling Green) said in a written statement that Obamacare is still “deeply flawed.”

“House Republicans will continue moving forward and continue to focus on fixing a broken system with policies that put patients first,” Mr. Latta said.

Democrats in Congress, however, celebrated the decision. Sen. Sherrod Brown, of Ohio, and Rep. Marcy Kaptur, of Toledo, released statements praising the ruling.

“The health law helps Ohio families with incomes between $23,850 and $95,400 – who do not have access to affordable coverage through an employer and are not eligible for programs like Medicaid or Medicare – access preventive health care instead of costly emergency room visits,” Mr. Brown said.

Added Miss Kaptur: “The Supreme Court put the best interests of the American people ahead of partisan ideology and guaranteed that every American will continue to have access to affordable life-changing care. This is great news.”

Contact Marlene Harris-Taylor at mtaylor@theblade.com or 419-724-6091.

First Published June 26, 2015, 4:00 a.m.