Few Alternatives for Mandate

The Supreme Court heads into its final day Wednesday of arguments about the constitutionality of a mandate that requires all Americans to buy health insurance. If that portion of the law is struck down, it’s unclear how much of the 2010 health-care bill will survive. The justices will be examining the bill to find how much of it can survive without the mandate, which some lower courts have ruled cannot be separated from the bill as a whole—including politically popular portions. On Tuesday the justices appeared to be split on the constitutionality of the bill.