Supreme Court Obamacare
The Washington Insider
Supreme Court upholds ‘Obamacare’ ruling law constitutional
Today, in a landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled that President Obama’s signature piece of legislation, the Affordable Care Act is constitutional and will remain the law of the land. The Supreme Court challenge to the legislation centered on the “individual mandate” which requires all citizens purchase health insurance or face a substantial fine. The mandate was added to the legislation as a funding mechanism so that the legislation would end up, at worst, a revenue-neutral law. With the law ruled constitutional, the popular provisions with the general public like allowing children to stay on their parents’ health insurance until age 26 and not allowing insurance companies to deny coverage for preexisting conditions will remain law.
Generally, pundits and Supreme Court scholars were surprised by the decision. Based on the oral arguments presented by the government and the laws opponents at the end of March, conventional wisdom pointed to the law being overturned. While certainly controversial at this moment, it remains to be seen what effect this decision will have on November’s Presidential Election.
