Lehigh University professors say they were surprised by the Chief Justice John Roberts reasoning to uphold the individual mandate in "Obamacare."
View full sizeSupporters of President Barack Obama's health care law celebrate Thursday outside the U.S. Supreme Court today in Washington, D.C., after the court's ruling was announced.U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts — President George W. Bush's pick to lead the court — made all the difference Thursday when the court narrowly voted to uphold most of President Barack Obama's health care plan, according to two local college professors.
The ruling to uphold the individual mandate was "surprising," said George Nation, a law professor at Lehigh University in Bethlehem.
"The proponents of the law made such a point of specifically denying that this provision was a tax that the court might have been justified in refusing to edit a poorly drafted law," Nation wrote in an email, referring to Roberts' majority opinion that the individual mandate can be construed as a tax, thus making it constitutional.
Matt Melone, another professor of law at Lehigh University, also called the court's decision a surprise because Roberts was the deciding vote “and on the grounds in which he upheld it.”
“I’m surprised because Roberts said ‘we don’t care what it’s labeled, it only matters what it is,’” he said. “Congress has the ability to do this through its taxing power.”
Though he agrees with Roberts, Melone said individuals shouldn’t be penalized — or “taxed” — for failure to buy insurance.
Instead, the provision could have been drafted to offer a tax credit or another incentive for purchasing health insurance, he said.
But, he added: “In substance, it’s the same thing. Politically, it’s not.”
Nation said he was just as surprised when he read Roberts’ tax clause analysis. The country will not fine individuals for not having health insurance, but instead they’d be “taxing non-activity,” he said.
“You don’t have to buy it. Just pay the tax and you’re fine,” he said. “I think (Roberts) is technically correct.”
The Supreme Court is basically saying “we’ll leave this to the political process,” Nation said. The court is saying “if you don’t like it, there’s an election coming up and we’ll let the voters decide," he said.
The ruling could be a big motivator for Republicans because it reaffirms their argument that it was not a penalty but a tax, said G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa.
GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has "already raised a million bucks online as result," Madonna said about 1:30 Thursday afternoon.
The ruling hands Obama a campaign-season victory in rejecting arguments that Congress went too far in approving the plan. However, Republicans quickly indicated they will try to use the decision to rally their supporters against what they call “Obamacare.”
“It convinces them that the president has to go," Madonna said. "It will motivate Republicans in ways they may not have been motivated before. There's going to be huge changes in 2013 and 2014."