The US Supreme Court upheld the core components of Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law yesterday, handing the president a significant legal victory while enraging conservative opponents of the controversial policy.
The decision will help ensure that the debate over healthcare and the broader question of the optimum size of government in a struggling economy will play a central role in this year’s presidential campaign.
Shares in health insurance companies dropped sharply after the ruling, but hospital stocks surged as investors bet that hospitals will be spared costs associated with treating uninsured patients. The healthcare sector comprises one-sixth of the US economy.