Fate of Obamacare to Be Known Thursday
Last updated: July 2, 2012 by Susan
In this shaky economy and bitter bipartisan political climate, the fate of America will effectively be decided by the Supreme Court: will it uphold the Affordable Care Act and bring medical security to a great swathe of Americans, or will it rule against the act and avoid forcing Americans to buy insurance for themselves and their employees?
Update: Obamacare has been upheld.
The Supreme Court will rule on June 28 whether they will uphold all the provisions of the act, rule against certain provisions that court deems to be unconstitutional or strike down the act in its entirety. One of the most hotly watched provisions of the act forces individuals to get insurance or be penalized for the “burden” they place on the taxpayer when uninsured individuals enter the emergency room and the state pays for their treatment.
The Obama administration is quite upbeat about the constitutionality of the act, with Press Secretary Jay Carney defending the results of the provision. He points out that 3.1 million young adults are now covered by health insurance because of a provision in the Affordable Care Act that allows them to be covered by their parents’ plan until they reach 26 years of age.1
Republicans, however, are quick to hit back by saying these consumer protections come at a big cost. They also threaten to go to the House to repeal whatever is left of the act after the Supreme Court ruling.
“If the court does not strike down the entire law, the House will move to repeal what’s left of it,” announced House Speaker John Boehner in a previous comment on Wednesday.
As usual, Democrats and Republicans are at odds with the act itself.
Democrats like it for the universal medical access available to Americans with pre-existing medical conditions along with the reduced tax burden of paying for uninsured individuals who declare bankruptcy because of medical emergencies. Republicans hate it for forcing regulations on businesses and the “unconstitutionality” of forcing Americans to get insurance or pay a penalty.
- Source: What is Obamacare? [↩]