In a 5-4 majority, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheldmost of the federal health care law, including one of the more controversial measures, the individual mandate.
A decision on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has been one of the most anticipated high court rulings in recent memory.
As news of the decision spread throughout Boise, we asked people what they thought of the ruling, and the law.
Boise resident Emma Coggy is 25 and says the health care law has allowed her to stay on her parents insurance.
“I’ve had to deal with a lot of health issues in the past six months and I wouldn’t have been able to pay for them, absolutely not without their health insurance,” she says. “So I really, really, really, really deeply appreciate that law in a lot of ways. But it seems like there’s kind of a loophole to require people to have health insurance but not take care of the fact that most people who don’t have it, don’t have it because they can’t pay for it.”
Laurie Jo Kark says requiring people to buy health insurance won’t work. She says too many people will ignore the requirement. She says the law won’t fix the problems of health care access because it doesn’t go far enough.
“I think we need an overhaul of the whole system if we’re going to achieve anything. We’re going to have to reinvent ourselves,” Kark says. “I’d like to see us do what Sweden and Norway are doing and actually take care of our people rather than take care of some and not others.”
Laura Hinckley is a stay-at-home mom with a special needs child. She says today's ruling could mean the end of fighting with the health care system. “Health care for [my child] is a lot of money. So without insurance, I’d be really screwed. They can’t say no to me now. They tried to say no to me before and I had to fight them for it, for like three months.”
Boise resident Sean Becktell works in computer information technology. He doesn't agree with the law's requirement that all individuals must have health insurance. “I’m sorry to see that it passed the court. I feel like it wasn’t funded properly, I feel like it’s just asking for trouble further down the road. I don’t like the idea of budgeting including things we don’t have a way of paying for.”
Christina Blakeley also takes issue with the individual mandate. She's a junior at the University of Phoenix. “I’m 38 years old, I’m healthy, and If I choose to get insurance on myself that’s fine but don’t force it upon me.”
Darrin Burl is a commercial real estate agent in Boise. “I believe it’s a little bit of a political over step requiring it. On the other hand I also think that there’s some merit to, I guess trying to protect the public," Burl says. "So I’m not really sure how I feel. I think I would be on the middle of the fence at this point.”
We want to hear what you think of today's landmark Supreme Court ruling. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.