POLL: Can the Health Reform Law Stand Without the Individual Mandate?
The Obama administration on Friday said that if the Supreme Court strikes down the federal health reform law’s individual mandate, most of the law can remain intact. Plaintiffs in the case have argued that the entire law must be voided if the mandate is struck down.
In a brief filed with the court, Department of Justice lawyers noted that just two provisions would need to be eliminated if justices deem the mandate unconstitutional.
However, Karen Harned of the National Federation of Independent Business, a plaintiff in the case, said that the mandate holds the reform law together. She added, “To argue otherwise would be like arguing a house can stand after its foundation has crumbled.”
