Tensions rise as justices kick healthcare ruling to next week
By Sam Baker and Elise Viebeck
Source: thehill.com
The Supreme Court did not rule on President Obama's healthcare law Thursday, raising tensions before a decision next week.
The ruling was possible Thursday but not expected. The court traditionally holds its biggest decisions until the last day of the term, and the healthcare case is among the most highly anticipated decisions in decades, overshadowing the current term.
The next possible day for a decision is Monday, but justices will add more days to the schedule later next week.Television camera crews set up outside the court Thursday just in case a decision on the healthcare law was released. There is also great interest in an expected court decision on Arizona's controversial immigration law. Tha Arizona decision also was not released Thursday.
Interest in the court's docket was also reflected at the Scotusblog, which said it had 22,000 visitors on Thursday morning.
The court's public information office implemented new protocols starting Thursday in order to accomodate the vast interest surrounding the healthcare decision.
The Obama administration took the opportunity to praise one provision of the health law just an hour before 10 a.m., when the ruling might have been issued.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that Americans will receive $1.1 billion in rebates from insurers this summer as a result of the law's medical loss ratio (MLR). This will average about $151 per insured family, the agency estimated.
The MLR that insurers spend roughly 80 percent of all premiums on healthcare rather than marketing, executive bonuses or other administrative costs.
The Obama administration continues to talk up provisions of the law as they are implemented. Polls show that, as a whole, the Affordable Care Act remains unpopular with the public.
Legal insiders believe the justices will strike down all or part of the healthcare law, according to a survey released Wednesday.
Obama administration touts health law an hour before possible ruling
By Elise Viebeck
Source: The Hill
Federal health officials touted a popular provision of the healthcare law — which would result in $1.1 billion in insurance rebates to consumers — just an hour before the Supreme Court could issue its ruling.
A ruling could happen Thursday at 10 a.m. After that, the next possible decision date is Monday, June 25.
The Obama administration continues to talk up provisions of the law as they are implemented. As a whole, the Affordable Care Act remains unpopular with the public.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Thursday morning that 12.8 million Americans will receive $1.1 billion in rebates from insurers this summer as a result of the law. This will average about $151 per insured family, the agency estimated.
The rebates will stem from the law's medical loss ratio, which mandates that insurers spend roughly 80 percent of all premiums on healthcare rather than marketing, executive bonuses or other administrative costs.
"The 80/20 rule helps ensure consumers get fair value for their health care dollar," Sebelius said in a statement.
Materials from HHS said that consumers will likely see a rebate check in the mail, a lump sum reimbursement to the account they use to pay premiums or a reduction in their future payments. Insurers must issue checks by Aug. 1, unless the law is struck down in the next two weeks.
Poll: Healthcare reform must stay on Washington's agenda
Americans strongly support further efforts to reform the healthcare system if the Affordable Care Act is declared unconstitutional, a new poll finds.
The overwhelming desire for a new reform effort — supported by more than 75 percent of the public — was comprised of backers and opponents alike of the law known as "ObamaCare," according to The Associated Press-GfK poll.
Neither party is expected to launch a comprehensive reform effort if the court strikes down the law in the next two weeks. Republicans in the House have said they will immediately repeal whatever portions of the law are left standing and approach other reform attempts step by step.
The White House, meanwhile, is expected to continue implementing any parts of the law that remain.
The poll found that even among Tea Party supporters — the most vocal objectors to the original healthcare law — nearly 60 percent said they want Washington to continue some kind of healthcare reform effort. This represented the lowest level of support found by the poll, according to the AP.
Overall, 47 percent opposed the law, including only 21 percent of independents, and just over a majority said the 2012 presidential contest will have a big effect on the healthcare system.
The poll was conducted June 14-18 and had a margin of error of 4 points.
Preparing for the SCOTUS ruling
By Brian M. Kalish
June 18, 2012
Industry groups are being proactive in preparing their membership for the Supreme Court’s ruling on health care reform — which is expected at any time — as they know no matter the ruling, the business has changed forever.
At the National Association of Health Underwriters they have readied their membership by covering the topic across numerous mediums, including weekly e-newsletters, town halls and web seminars, says Jessica Waltman, NAHU’s SVP of government affairs.
After the decision comes out, NAHU members will want to know what will happen, Waltman says, adding she believes the ruling may come out during the organization’s annual convention, which begins June 24 in Las Vegas, so they are making plans to have plenty of time to discuss it.
“We need to inform our membership, so we have a variety of information tools that we are preparing that cover the eventualities as far as we can see them,” she says. “We believe no matter the ruling; [our] members will start receiving calls from their clients. … Our goal is to have tools at the ready so they can best assist their clients.”
The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers is taking a similar approach, and has already had discussions with its membership about the potential impact of the ruling, says Scott Sinder, partner, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, and The Council’s general counsel.
The Council and its attorneys at Steptoe & Johnson LLP “have folks anxiously awaiting and ready to read the opinions,” and the organization intends to send notice to its members within hours of the ruling that reports on “the big picture,” which will be followed up with more in depth analysis within 24-28 hours.
A series of web seminars, including an initial one for its membership and a second one for members to share with their clients, will follow.
One broker, who says he started his business expecting health care reform, says he’s enjoyed watching the buildup to the ruling. “In the last three to four months it’s been interesting to see brokers still holding onto that hope that we’re going to go back five or six years and broker commissions will go back up and we’re not going to have government involvement in health care. But I don’t see that scenario occurring,” says Reid Rasmussen, owner of Benefit Brainstorm, Inc, adding he believes 30% of brokers will leave the business in the next two years.
“That will open opportunity up to the insurance professionals that are still left figure out how to better serve their clients,” he says. “Smart agents are expanding their horizons and serving their client better than ever before. … It’s not going to make a difference in the end what the Supreme Court rules.”
Even so, Waltman says, NAHU cannot wait for the ruling to come out, as presently “it’s very difficult to plan anything and it affects a lot of our dealings [and] feelings. … It affects everything we are doing.”
“Just having the closure will be very helpful,” she adds. “I think we are looking for that and then we can plan accordingly. No matter what the Court does … there needs to be changes to market reform in the coming year.”
OVERNIGHT HEALTH: Still waiting for SCOTUS
06/18/12
Source: thehill.com
By Sam Baker and Elise Viebeck
The Supreme Court’s landmark healthcare ruling is just days away. More than 10,000 users tuned in for live updates Monday morning at SCOTUSblog but, as expected, the court didn’t release its highly anticipated healthcare ruling. The next possibility is Thursday, though the odds still seem to favor a ruling next week.
As the decision nears, focus is turning once again to the important issue of severability — whether the healthcare reform law’s individual mandate would have to take the whole law down with it, if it’s found to be unconstitutional. The justices can do just about anything they want on the severability question: strike down the whole law; strike out only the mandate; or strike the mandate and certain other provisions.
Any decision is sure to stir up a partisan firestorm, but a new poll released Monday indicates that the firestorm might be a bit softer if the court only strikes the mandate. In a new poll from the Pew Center for People and the Press, 43 percent of Republicans said they’d be happy with a decision striking down just the mandate, while 47 percent said they’d be unhappy. Among Democrats, 56 percent said they’d be unhappy losing just the mandate — a majority, sure, but smaller than the 74 percent who said they’d be unhappy if the court strikes down the entire law.
How Supreme Court Could Rule on ACA
The Supreme Court is expected to hand down a decision this month on Preisdent Obama's health reform law, which is called the Affordable Care Act by Democrats and Obamacare by Republicans. There are several different questions before the court, including when to decide, whether an individual mandate is constitutional, and whether the Congress can force states to expand Medicaid by placeing restrictions on federal funds.