US court to rule on divisive ‘Obamacare’
Supreme Court to decide on Thursday whether president’s healthcare reform bill is constitutional.
The US Supreme court will decide on Thursday whether or not President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform is constitutional.
Although Republican leaders have criticised the bill, the law is closely modeled on a Massachusetts healthcare reform, which Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee for the next US presidential elections, helped design when he was governor there.
Massachusetts is the only state that requires all its legal residents to be medically insured, whether paid for by employers or the government. Those who refuse to carry coverage pay an average penalty of $1,200 per year.
Romney still defends the state law, but insists that it should not be forced on the rest of the country.
Al Jazeera’s Tom Ackerman reports from Boston, Massachusetts.