Health-reform law stands

The U.S. Supreme Court voted June 28 to uphold most of President Obama’s federal health-care law, ruling Congress has the authority to require nearly all Americans to purchase health insurance.

California stood to lose up to $15 billion a year in federal funding if the law was deemed unconstitutional, according to the Los Angeles Times. As California has 7 million uninsured residents—accounting for nearly 20 percent of the state’s population—the state will receive $9 billion annually to expand Medi-Cal and an additional $6 billion for low- and middle-income residents purchasing subsidized insurance through the state’s health-insurance exchange.

Though the ruling is a surprise victory for the Obama administration, the court did reject one aspect of the reform law—states can opt to reject Medicaid expansion.