Supreme Court weighs future of Obamacare

Nearly three years ago, President Donald Trump signed a law removing the Affordable Care Act’s penalty for individuals who did not have health insurance. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments over whether the rest of President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law can stand without its centerpiece provision. Republican attorneys general from 18 states want the nation’s highest court to overturn the rest of the healthcare law, including its requirement that insurance companies cover preexisting health conditions.

Which way is the court leaning? U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh both commented they thought the law could remain valid without the individual health insurance mandate. If they joined the court’s three liberal justices, they could rule against the GOP plaintiffs with at least a 5-4 majority. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas voted with the minority in 2012 to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act. It’s unclear how Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch would rule, though Barrett has criticized the law in the past.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read my report in The Sift from when a lower court struck down Obamacare.