VOA标准英语2012--Obama Faces High Stakes in Supreme Court Arguments on Health Care

Obama Faces High Stakes in Supreme¹ Court Arguments on Health Care

President Obama signed health care reform into law in 2010 after prevailing² in a year-long political struggle on an issue that defied bipartisan solutions for decades.

Thirty million uninsured Americans gain access to coverage³. Highly popular provisions prohibit denial of coverage based on pre-existing medical conditions, and allow children to remain on their parents' plans until they are 26.

A recent opinion poll found that fewer Americans now believe their health care will worsen under the law.

Polls also show that opposition⁴ to the law remains⁵ high. 

Critics, such as Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, who is a doctor, call it a big government approach that will drive up deficits⁶ and debt and lower the quality of care.

“Patients I talk to want patient-centered health care," he said. "They don’t want insurance company-centered or government-centered.”

Supreme Court arguments will focus on a requirement that virtually all Americans buy health insurance by 2014 or pay a tax penalty. Opponents call this unconstitutional and want the law repealed⁸.

Scott Vavrinchik is a partner in a company in Chicago that provides kidney dialysis services, which the federal government normally pays for.

“I think it is unconstitutional. I think it is a freedom of choice [issue]," he said. "Health care is not a right, it is a commodity.”

Attorneys-general in 26 Republican-led states, filed suit against the health care law. A Florida judge struck it down last year, though it has been upheld in other courts.

Maron Soueid, a recent college graduate from New Jersey⁹, believes arguments against the law won’t stand in the long run.

“It has been difficult to find a job, and a job that will cover all of your health care, so this is definitely beneficial for a person like me,” Soueid said.

The Obama administration points out the law's benefits. On the president's re-election campaign web site a video highlights a family relying on it to care for a daughter with a heart condition.

“I can’t even fathom¹⁰ what is going through the minds of people who want to repeal⁷ the health care act," the daughter's mother says in the video. "They’re choosing life or death for many, many Americans.”

Health care is a key issue in the 2012 presidential campaign as Mr. Obama seeks re-election and spars with Republican challengers.

“Depending on what the Supreme Court rules, one side or the other could be particularly emboldened," said Henry Olsen, an analyst¹¹ with the American Enterprise Institute. "It also brings back the conversation to health care, which is not a good field for President Obama to be fighting on.”

If the Supreme Court upholds the health care law, Mr. Obama could gain important momentum¹² before the November presidential election.

If the court strikes down major provisions, opponents will claim victory and argue that he mishandled his signature legislative¹³ achievement. 

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

3 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

7 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

8 repealed   

撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Labour Party repealed the Act. 工党废除了那项法令。
• The legislature repealed the unpopular Rent Act. 立法机关废除了不得人心的租借法案。

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 fathom   

v.领悟，彻底了解

参考例句：

• I really couldn't fathom what he was talking about.我真搞不懂他在说些什么。
• What these people hoped to achieve is hard to fathom.这些人希望实现些什么目标难以揣测。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

13 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。