The highest court in the land has until June 28th to make a decision on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as they enter the final three weeks of their judicial 2012 term.
STORY: Health Care At Stake! Things You Need To Know
The last three weeks is a period when the Supreme Court will decide on cases they’ve heard this year and the ACA decision will be a big one – so big that it would change the course of American politics forever.
The main issue at hand is whether or not the government should mandate that individuals must purchase health insurance, aka the individual mandate.
Another component of the act is the expansion of Medicaid, as opponents of the law feel that states shouldn’t have to pay for the expansion of the health care program for the poor.
As for Americans, most want the Supreme Court to overturn the individual health care mandate or strike down the law all together.
It’s a lot to rifle through, but here’s a simple guide to understanding the Supreme Court health care decision.
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The Affordable Care Act (ACA) law was argued before the Supreme Court over three days in March as 26 states, individuals, the National Federation of Individual Businesses and others challenged the government on the law’s constitutionality.
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The individual mandate says that most individuals must purchase health insurance, while opponents say the government is overreaching by mandating people purchase insurance from a private company.
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When it comes to the expansion of Medicaid, states say it places an undue burden on them to pay for the expansion of the health care program for the poor.
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The court will decide if the entire health care law stands or if the provisions can be severed from the law, as the Obama administration argued that the law is only possible as a whole.
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If the S.C. strikes down the act, the entire health care law could be dismantled and preexisting conditions would no longer be prohibited. People under the age of 26 could not stay on their parents’ health insurance, and bans on lifetime limits would be dropped.
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The people don’t want the law, according to a CBS News/New York Times, which revealed that seven in ten Americans or 41 percent think that the health care law should be overturned completely by the Supreme Court, while another 27 percent say they want the court to keep the law but overturn the mandate. For Americans, it’s an either/or situation.
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The Obama administration has argued that the law is only possible as a whole and that ridding the individual mandate or the expansion components would undermine the law.
