Congratulations, America! You are now a first world nation.

at least until the republicans get in again and appoint their own staff back into the court.

It’s not that great a victory is it? Millions of ‘middle class’ ( low to middle income?) Americans must still pay privately for health care and there is no requirement for States to expand medicare (low cost healthcare) to some of those not currently eligible.
To congratulate America on reaching the first world is more than premature.

In my earlier comment I should have referred to ‘medicaid’ rather than ‘medicare’.

The ruling basically says the government has a right to impose a tax (penalty) on those who ‘chose’ not to buy health insurance, that is you have the right NOT to buy insurance cover but will pay an additional tax for making that ‘choice’.
Will some Americans then be forced to chose between heating and eating (as many already are) while having to pay health insurance for fear of a certain fine. There are plenty of other choices Americans can throw into this mix, such as ‘I’d like to save for my child’s college education, but have to pay health insurance instead’.
What of those lower income Americans in states that refuse to expand medicaid, why should they have to pay additional tax when the government (state or federal) continues to fail to provide them with even basic healthcare provision?

@3 its a start though.

This is very good news. Imagine the alternative, the Supreme Court ruling that the states could not raise money for health care. This has effectively ruled a universal health system theoretically constitutional.

@6

There’s very little doubt that a universal single-payer system would be perfectly constitutional, based on the same logic that authorises Social Security/Medicaid/Medicare. The challenge to this system was only possible precisely because it eschewed the single-payer approach in favour of an individual mandate.

@ 6,

“the Supreme Court ruling that the states could not raise money for health care”

It’s nothing to do with the states. It was concerned with what the Federal government can do. The ruling is unconstitutional and it ain’t over yet.

Oops, not the states, but rather the United States, can effectively raise money for this health care system, and the SC has ruled that it is constitutional to do so and upset the Republicans who want to keep the poor away from health care in the interests of their 18th century concept of liberty. So…very good news.

@Trooper Thompson #8:

The ruling is unconstitutional and it ain’t over yet.

I think you’ll find that SCOTUS speaks last and loudest on what is constitutional and what is not; and once it has spoken – it is over.