What if? ... the health law and Supreme Court decision scenarios

Depending on how the high court rules, its decision has potential to trigger a variety of changes -- both in government health programs such as Medicare as well as in the private sector.

NPR: If The Health Care Overhaul Goes Down, Could Medicare Follow?
A growing number of health experts are warning of potential collateral damage if the Supreme Court strikes down the entire 2010 Affordable Care Act: potential chaos in the Medicare program (Rovner, 4/24).

The Associated Press: The Next Health Care Overhaul? Look To Employers
If the Supreme Court strikes down President Barack Obama's health care law, employers and insurance companies -; not the government -; will be the main drivers of change over the next decade and maybe even longer... Republican proposals for replacing the health care law will help some businesses and individuals, but aren't likely to solve the problem of the uninsured because of the party's opposition to raising taxes. The GOP alternative during House debate of Obama's law would have covered 3 million uninsured people, compared with more than 30 million under the president's plan (Alonso-Zaldivar, 4/24).

Politico: If Health Care Is Undecided…
If America is hoping a Supreme Court ruling will end the legal uncertainty hanging over the health care system once and for all, there's a chance it could be sorely disappointed. Most legal experts are hoping the Supreme Court will give a clear thumbs up or down to the health care law. But they're worried about the possibility that, if the court strikes down just part of the health law, it could outsource the job of figuring out precisely which provisions of the gargantuan law stay or go (Feder, 4/23).