Wednesday, March 28, 2012

US Supreme Court begins last day on healthcare law

The Supreme Court began hearing a final day of arguments over President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul on Wednesday, focusing on whether the entire law would survive if the justices strike down a key insurance requirement as invalid under the US Constitution.

The 26 states that have sought to have the so-called individual mandate that most people obtain insurance or face a penalty rejected have argued that if it is struck down, the rest of the law should fall. The Obama administration has argued that almost all other parts of the law could stand.

The nine-member court scheduled two sessions on Wednesday, a 90-minute argument in the morning over whether the entire law should stand and 60 minutes in the afternoon on whether Congress could require states to expand eligibility for Medicaid, the federal-state program that provides health insurance for the poor.

The arguments over the fate of a law considered Obama's signature domestic policy achievement have spanned three days and a ruling is expected in late June.