The Supreme Court announced Thursday morning that the Affordable Care Act mandating every American to purchase health insurance is constitutional and should stand.
The court decided that the government is permitted to penalize individuals who refuse to purchase health insurance, according to NBC News. The Supreme Court ruled that the federal government can levy a "tax" on individuals who do not buy into the system, according to NBC News.
The individual health care mandate is the key provision in the reform popularly known as "Obamacare," and some legal experts thought that it could be ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Had it been stripped from the law, many other provisions–such as covering people with pre-existing conditions and not capping insurance coverage–most likely would have been removed, as well.
The decision is a major victory for the Obama administration, which touted the law passed in March 2010 as its signature legislative achievement. However, there are other Americans who decried the law because of concerns about the federal government's role in regulating the health care industry.
The Supreme Court justices listened to oral arguments on the case in late March before issuing their decision Thursday morning. The court voted 5-4 to uphold the law, with Chief Justice John Roberts casting the deciding vote and writing the majority opinion.
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