U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Jun 28, 2012
In an opinion issued today, June 28, 2012, the United States Supreme Court upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). To view the Court’s opinion, click here.
Commenting on the development, National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) President and Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said, “While the NAIC has taken no position on the law, as an organization we have continued our mission of providing information and support to state regulators so that they may best serve their consumers and their markets. We will continue to work to give regulators the tools they need to ensure a stable health insurance marketplace in the states. Where the ACA provides states with latitude, regulators will continue to work with insurers, consumer groups and the public to provide the best regulatory framework going forward.”
To view an NAIC special section with extensive information about the health care reform and state insurance regulation, click here.
An Associated Press report on the Court’s decision is reprinted below.
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High court upholds key part of Obama health law
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the individual insurance requirement at the heart of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.
The decision means the historic overhaul will continue to go into effect over the next several years, affecting the way that countless Americans receive and pay for their personal medical care. The ruling also handed Obama a campaign-season victory in rejecting arguments that Congress went too far in requiring most Americans to have health insurance or pay a penalty.
Chief Justice John Roberts announced the court’s judgment that allows the law to go forward with its aim of covering more than 30 million uninsured Americans.
The court found problems with the law’s expansion of Medicaid, but even there said the expansion could proceed as long as the federal government does not threaten to withhold states’ entire Medicaid allotment if they don’t take part in the law’s extension.
The court’s four liberal justices, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, joined Roberts in the outcome.
Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.
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