Health Care Updates

Experts Say Employers, Insurance Companies In Charge If Healthcare Overhaul Collapses.

In a story carried by more than 135 news sources, the AP  (4/25, Alonso-Zaldivar) reports that according to experts, “employers and insurance companies will take charge” if the Supreme Court decides to strike down President Obama’s healthcare overhaul. The piece details what to expect. Tom Billet, a senior benefits consultant with Towers Watson, remarked, “Employers had been the major force driving health care change in this country up until the passage of health reform. If Obamacare disappears … we go back to square one. We still have a major problem in this country with very expensive health care.”

NPR  (4/25, Rovner) reports in its “Shots” blog about “potential chaos in the Medicare program” if the ACA is struck down. Experts are said to be concerned because “the law changed the payment rates for just about every type of health care professional who treats Medicare patients,” and if found unconstitutional, Sara Rosenbaum, a professor of health law and policy at George Washington University, warned, “You have agencies sitting on two years of policies that are up in smoke. Hospitals might not get paid. Nursing homes might not get paid. Doctors might not get paid. Changes in coverage that have begun to take effect for the elderly, closing the doughnut hole might not happen. We don’t know.”

Poll: Supreme Court Ruling To Not Change Opinion On Healthcare Reform.

The Wall Street Journal  (4/25, Radnofsky) reports in its “Health” blog on the results of an April poll  by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which found that 43 percent of respondents view the healthcare law unfavorably, while 42 percent feel good about it. In addition, opinion on the law’s insurance mandate are said to remain unchanged. The Journal notes that few respondents acknowledged that the Supreme Court’s ruling would change their opinion.