The mandate for individual insurance in President Barack Obama’s health care legislation remains intact after the Supreme Court’s ruling Thursday.

The decision, which affects the way Americans pay for and receive health care, rejected the argument that Congress violated the Constitution by requiring most Americans to have health insurance or pay a penalty.

People throughout Syracuse and Central New York have responded to the court’s ruling.

Tom Dennison, Syracuse University public administration and international affairs professor, said the court’s decision is a step forward.

“This is a positive step in the nation’s health care reform,” Dennison said, “but it would be dangerous to assume that this is a win and just leave it at that.”

One of the shortfalls of the decision is the lack of clear information included in the law. There are people who are opposed to the law but do not know what they are opposed to, he said.

Matthew Cleary, a political science professor, said he was surprised by the ruling. During the debate about the law, he said, Obama and administration officials clearly stated the individual mandate would not be a tax. Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, reiterated this after the ruling.

“While I am not a constitutional scholar, I am left wondering whether the government’s ability to use its taxing authority to regulate the behavior of citizens has any constitutional limits,” Cleary said.

Republican Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle of the 25th District issued a statement Thursday announcing her disapproval of President Obama’s health care reform plan.

“The Supreme Court rules on constitutionality, not whether a law is good policy,” Buerkle said. “Despite the Court’s ruling, the majority of the President’s healthcare law is still bad policy. It is bad for patients, healthcare providers, and businesses.”

The fight for effective health care reform still continues, she said. Though health care reform is needed, she said, it should not be in the way enacted by the legislation.

Buerkle said she came to Washington, D.C., to remove government from the lives of the American people and will continue to work to do so.

David Page, president of the Onondaga County Medical Society, said in a news release that people must immediately focus on what future changes can and should be made to the health care delivery system, regardless of whether they agree or disagree with the court’s decision.

Said Page: “The Onondaga County Medical Society and its member physicians support future steps that would allow all patients to have access to proper medical care at the right time and in the right setting.”

Published on July 2, 2012 at 1:07 am

Contact Alexandra: adhitzle@syr.edu | @LexieHitzler