Supreme Court Upholds Health Care Requirements

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the lifetime health insurance requirement of President Obama's health care, commonly called "Obamacare," reform in a five-four ruling, according to the New York Times.

The law aims to cover 30 million otherwise uninsured Americans.

Chief Justice John Roberts announced the ruling and was backed by justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor.

City Councilman Brad Lander said, "Thanks to this ruling, tens of millions of people will have health insurance who don't have it now. The vast majority of Americans want a government that ensures young people have health care, that ensures that poor people have health care, and that ensures that women are not charged more than men for health care. With today's ruling we can continue to build the active government we want, that looks to make life a little better for all of us."

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Assemblywoman Joan Millman shared similar cheers with Carroll Gardens Patch, "I applaud today's Supreme Court's decision and believe it's a win for the American people."

"The Court's decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act is great news for our City, State and Nation," City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said in a statement.

"Now that the Supreme Court has recognized the right to universal access to affordable health care, it is time for the extreme right to drop their attacks and start working constructively to help meet the law's principal objectives – providing all Americans with access to the best health care in the world, while bringing down the costs of our health care system."

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said in a statement, "It is time to get beyond scoring political points and get back to finding common core values and passing legislation that will help grow our economy and get more people back to work."

City Comptroller John Liu said, "New Yorkers will now benefit from increased access to primary and preventive care, added help in finding and using insurance coverage, and an overall focus on spending our healthcare dollars more wisely."

Sen. Daniel Squadron also announced his support, "Today's decision ensures that millions of New Yorkers—and Americans—will have access to the affordable quality health care they deserve. I'm proud that the Supreme Court stood up for the values on which this country was built. This is truly a win for all Americans."

Congressman Jerrold Nadler also had nothing but high praise in a released statement:

"By not caving in to the most craven political calls, it appears the Court has stood by more than 70 years of legal precedent to ensure that: some 32 million Americans will have access to health insurance; we stop the unnecessary deaths of 42,000 Americans annually who die simply because they lack health insurance; insurers can no longer deny a child health care because of pre-existing conditions; millions of young adults receive coverage on their parents’ plans until age 26; insurers can no longer impose lifetime limits on coverage; millions of Americans receive free preventive care; and, seniors save billions of dollars on prescription drugs.

The law, which requires most Americans to have health insurance or face penalties, was challenged on the basis that Congress had overstepped. Dissenting justices include Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito.

The court ruled the mandate can be considered a tax.

"Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness," Roberts said.

Stay with Patch for updates on this developing story.