The Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court sit for their official photograph on Oct. 8, 2010 at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. (credit: TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) – 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. Roberts provided the swing vote to uphold the president’s health care law as the court ruled 5-4. 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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