"Whatever the politics, today's decision was a victory
for people all over this country whose lives will be more secure
because of this law and the Supreme Court's decision to uphold it,"
Obama said during brief remarks at the White House.
Obama stressed
the provisions of the law that he said will provide health insurance
for nearly all Americans when it is fully in place in 2014; he said
millions of Americans will not have to give up their existing insurance
plans.
The president spoke shortly after the Supreme Court upheld the health care law in a complex opinion that appears to give him a major election-year victory. The decision can be found on the Supreme Court website.
Basically,
a majority of the justices said that the individual mandate -- the
requirement that most Americans buy health insurance or pay a fine --
is constitutional as a tax.
"Because the Constitution
permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon
its wisdom or fairness," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in an
opinion that reflected a 5-4 vote on the question.
Roberts -- a
conservative appointed by President George W. Bush -- provided the key
vote to preserve the landmark health care law, which figures to be a
major issue in Obama's re-election bid against Republican opponent Mitt
Romney.
Obama said he respects critics of
law, and that he will work with others to improve the plan when
appropriate. The president added, "it should be pretty clear by now
that I didn't do this because it was good politics -- I did it because I
believed it was good for the country."
While disdaining the
Washington politics surrounding the Supreme Court decision, Obama did
note that the law's key provision -- the requirement that most Americans
buy some sort of health insurance -- was once backed by some
Republicans, including Romney.
For their part, Romney and other
Republicans said the decision underscores the need to repeal the law
they say is too costly, places too many burdens on job creators, and
injects too much government into personal health care decisions.
"Obamacare was bad policy yesterday," Romney said. "It's bad policy today."
