WASHINGTON -- The individual health insurance mandate is constitutional, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday, upholding the central provision of President Barack Obama's signature Affordable Care Act.
The 5-4 majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, upheld the mandate as a tax, although concluded it was not valid as an exercise of Congress' commerce clause power. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined in the majority.
The decision in Florida v. Department of Health and Human Services comes as something of a surprise after the generally hostile reception the law received during the six hours of oral arguments held over three days in March. But by siding with the court's four Democratic appointees, Chief Justice Roberts avoided the delegitimizing taint of politics that surrounds a party-line vote while passing Obamacare's fate back to the elected branches. GOP candidates and incumbents will surely spend the rest of the 2012 campaign season running against the Supreme Court and for repeal of the law.
The decision looks like a political compromise among the justices, letting the mandate stand without wading into the contentious question of whether the provision is a valid exercise of Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce. The majority concluded that the mandate, which requires virtually all Americans to obtain minimum health insurance coverage or pay a penalty, falls within Congress' power under the Constitution to "lay and collect taxes."
lolololaahahahahaha AHahahahAHahaha ahaha lololollolol
Edited at 2012-06-29 09:56 am (UTC)
Personally dying at the one saying America has killed personal liberty so he's seriously considering taking an opportunity to move to China. PFFFFFFFFFFFT
But holy crap the people saying "the only choice left is armed revolution." WOW.
i just can't at that logic.
I think that's even better than the Canada ones. Especially since in addition to all of the personal liberty that you don't have there, China is actually going through healthcare reform of their own so they can cover all of their people.
And as a minor nitpick...The USSA doesn't even make sense. The United Soviet Socialist America? Would be UASR. I'm convinced that the people who spout the most about politics know the least about history and civics.
Edited at 2012-06-29 07:26 am (UTC)
See, THAT is what I was expecting to hear in terms of right-wing flounces. None of this "moving to canada" stuff.
If a person thinks that it's A-OK for myself and others like me to have little or no healthcare access and that our disabling or lifethreatening conditions are just a cost of liberty... fuck those motherfuckers.
I'm so happy for you! *hugs*
So, basically, if you can't afford healthcare, they help you pay for it if you do want it? But if you can afford healthcare and don't get it, they charge you a fee? (What I'm understanding the fee is kind of like a tax to help pay for the healthcare for everyone overall?)
I've never had health insurance at all, so I honestly am out of the loop on how this stuff works. (And I'm worried too because I live in Mississippi, and our healthcare here from what I've seen if pretty crappy.)
There are supposedly to be tax credits in place to help pay for it.
If you still can not afford it, they do not charge you. If you CAN afford insurance but do not want it, you have to pay to opt out.
Because insurance companies can no longer reject people based on pre-existing conditions, this ensures people do not just buy the insurance when they get sick.
If your insurance goes up, it won't be because of the free birth control.
http://fox6now.com/2012/06/27/gov-walke
WOOOP! :)
*nope, no derailment meant, bbs. Been around ONTD + ONTD spawn too long to do something like that, but damn... what an end to an insane week!
Otherwise.... YAY!!!!!!!!!!!
Edited at 2012-07-08 04:54 pm (UTC)