The Supreme Court of the United States is set to rule this week on president Barack Obama’s monumental “make or break” healthcare reforms.
It is considered to be one of the biggest political decisions the country has faced in recent times, and has serious implications for whether Obama can secure a second term in office.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court’s ruling will have a dramatic effect on the lives of US citizens and expats considering moving overseas in the years to come.
The country’s highest court will begin closely inspecting the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which has been dubbed Obamacare.
This is because at the core of the reforms is the requirement for all individuals living in the US to take out health insurance.
They would have until 2014 to do this or be punished with a fine, which critics say is unlawful, arguing that Congress does not have the power to order people to purchase insurance.
Greg Abbott, the Republican attorney-general for Texas, and one of 28 senior legal advisors that sued Obama over the reforms, referred to it as the “constitutional issue of our time”.
He went on to say: “It will define the future arc of the United States Constitution and at the same time it is a decision of immeasurable economic impact for workers, employers and the economy.”
However, Neal Katyal, former Obama administration lawyer and supporter of the reforms, said that without health insurance, everyday Americans are going to foot the bill for treatments.
“We are not regulating what people buy; we’re regulating how people finance it,” he explained.
The role of the US government with regards to healthcare and the cost of it, has, for the best part of a century, remained a contentious area of policy.
Even the Supreme Court’s ruling remains ambiguous with a number of possible outcomes, including a full endorsement, a mixed ruling or even a complete dismissal.
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