Obama administration warns about what's at stake in health law decision

Federal officials and health policy experts forecast what the future might hold if the Supreme Court overturns, or upholds the health law. Also, surveys highlight how employers plan to react to the decision, and how the law might help stabilize certain aspects of the insurance market.

Politico Pro: W.H. Officials Warn About ACA Stakes
As the Supreme Court ruling approaches, administration officials are issuing dire warnings about the consequences if the court strikes down the health care reform law. Cecilia Munoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, said Monday at a White House town hall for seniors that "tremendously important" provisions in the Affordable Care Act were at stake if the court gets rid of the law. She cited the popular provisions of the law that will eliminate the "doughnut hole" in Medicare prescription drug coverage and let young adults up to age 26 stay on their parents' health plans (Smith, 6/11).

Kaiser Health News: Tom Scully: Even If Health Law Survives Court Challenge, Congress Could Delay Timetable (Video)
Thomas Scully, who ran Medicare and Medicaid under President George W. Bush (2001-2003), believes that the 2014 implementation of the Affordable Care Act will have to be delayed, even if the Supreme Court upholds it. Next year, Congress will have to negotiate a major deficit reduction deal, and could find savings by postponing the law. Scully, an attorney, is now a health care consultant (6/11). 

Politico Pro: Survey: Employers Planning On Coverage
A new survey says employers are worried that the health care reform law is going to drive up their costs -; but the vast majority of them are likely to keep covering their workers anyway. The survey from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans finds that -; regardless of the Supreme Court ruling -; 86 percent of employers said they will continue, or are likely to continue, to provide employee health insurance in 2014. According to the survey, 46 percent of employers "definitely will" keep covering their full-time workers, while 39 percent said they're "very likely" to do so (Smith, 6/11).

CQ HealthBeat: Health Law Would Temporarily Cushion Insurers Against Losses, Actuaries Say
Provisions of the health care law will help stabilize health plans financially when their medical outlays for newly covered Americans are hard to predict, says a study released Monday by the Society of Actuaries. Plans will be protected if they charge premiums that are too low to cover the medical costs of enrollees, the study notes. The study in particular analyzed reinsurance provisions of the law as well as its language establishing "risk corridors" (6/11).

Meanwhile, some local coverage explores how companies are bracing for the high court's decision -

The Dallas Morning News: Worried Dallas-Area Companies Await Ruling On Obama Health Care Overhaul
Dallas-area health care companies are bracing themselves for the U.S. Supreme Court's impending ruling on the constitutionality of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. If the court upholds the law's mandate requiring everyone who can afford it to buy health insurance, it will catch Texas flat-footed. One-fourth of Texans don't have insurance; in Dallas County, it's one-third of the population….But repeal, too, could present problems (Landers, 6/11).