US Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare... Biden Calls It "A Victory for All Americans"

'Conservative Majority' Supreme Court Rejects Lawsuit to Repeal Obamacare
Supreme Court: "Legitimate Policy Action by Executive Branch... No Harm from Individual Mandate"
Biden: "Victory for All Americans... Will Strengthen Obamacare"

Supporters of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known as Obamacare, are holding a rally in front of the Supreme Court on November 10, 2020.
[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Republican argument that the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known as "Obamacare," should be repealed.

According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 17th (local time), the Supreme Court dismissed by a 7-2 vote the lawsuit filed by 18 Republican-led states including Texas and two individuals, who claimed that Obamacare is unconstitutional and should be invalidated.

Currently, the Supreme Court consists of six conservative and three liberal justices, but in this ruling, a majority of conservative justices joined the liberal side.

Specifically, four conservative justices?Chief Justice John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett?issued dissenting opinions.

This marks the third time the Supreme Court has upheld Obamacare since it was enacted into law in 2010. Previously, in 2012 and 2015, the Court dismissed Republican-led repeal lawsuits.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

President Joe Biden issued a statement immediately after the Supreme Court ruling, saying, "Today's decision is a victory for all Americans," and added, "Now is the time to advance this law further."

Biden, who has positioned himself as the successor to Obamacare, pledged during his presidential campaign to expand and strengthen the law.

The lawsuit, filed in 2018, centered on the individual mandate provision of Obamacare.

In 2017, the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress removed the penalty for not having health insurance.

Accordingly, the Republicans argued that the individual mandate was unconstitutional and filed a repeal lawsuit with the Supreme Court.

However, the Supreme Court dismissed the case, ruling that Texas and others lacked legal standing to bring the lawsuit. The Court pointed out that the plaintiffs failed to provide sufficient evidence of the ACA’s illegality required to proceed with the case.

Notably, one reason for dismissal was the Court’s concern that the lawsuit could cause the judiciary to interfere with the executive branch’s policy decisions.

The Supreme Court made clear that it cannot judicially review legitimate political actions carried out by the executive branch.

The Court also noted that since Congress amended the law to remove penalties for those without health insurance, the plaintiffs did not suffer harm from the individual mandate provision they challenged.

However, the Court did not rule on the constitutionality of the individual mandate itself or whether the entire law should be invalidated if that provision were found unconstitutional.

The ACA, nicknamed "Obamacare" after former President Barack Obama, was established during his administration to expand insurance coverage and reduce healthcare blind spots for Americans.

However, the Republican Party has consistently opposed it, and former President Donald Trump implemented policies to reduce it during his tenure.

In 2017, the Republicans planned to push a major repeal bill through the Republican-controlled Congress, but it was narrowly defeated in the Senate by a single vote after moderate Republican Senator John McCain cast a dissenting vote.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.