In a 5 -4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, yesterday.
The case challenged the constitutionality of requiring Americans to maintain “minimum essential” health insurance coverage and requiring the states to expand the number of individuals covered by Medicare. The Court held that the requirement to hold insurance was permitted by the Government’s power to tax. On the other hand, the Court held that the threat to penalize states who fail to comply with the Medicare expansion was unconstitutional. This provision, however, was severable and thus the other provisions of the Act remain enforceable.
The full text of the Court’s decision can be found here.