Supreme Court Upholds Affordable Healthcare Individual Insurance Mandate

The Supreme Court handed down its ruling this morning that the individual insurance mandate in the Affordable Care Act is constitutional, according to the Huffington Post. The provision will require that most people have health insurance under the 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.

Follow this link to read the key features of the law.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the majority opinion to uphold the individual mandate was written by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna, a Bellevue resident, recently defended Washington state's participation in the suit challenging the constitutionality of the mandated purchase of health insurance in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to the Issaquah Press.

At the heart of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often derided as "Obamacare" by opponents of the current U.S. President, is the mandate which requires people to buy health insurance or face a penalty. Opinions have varied on whether the federal government has the power to force such a purchase.

The Associated Press plans to host a chat on its Google+ page at 1 p.m. PDT to discuss the impact on Americans and the 2012 presidential election.