Obama: Supreme Courth healthcare ruling a victory for Americans

  • 12 years ago
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STORY: U.S. President Barack Obama said the U.S. Supreme Court decision on healthcare is a victory for Americans.

Earlier, a sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court upheld the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare overhaul law that requires that most Americans get insurance by 2014 or pay a financial penalty.

The vote was 5-4.

In another part of the decision, and in a blow to the White House, a different majority on the court struck down the provision of the law that requires the states to dramatically expand the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor.

The upholding of the insurance purchase requirement, known as the "individual mandate," was a major election-year victory for Obama, an historic ruling on the law that aimed to extend coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans.

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