High court ruling's possible effect on state Medicaid programs

The New York Times: In Health Care Ruling, Vast Implications For Medicaid
The expansion of Medicaid -; if it is upheld by the Supreme Court -; is among the most significant parts of the law, as it will provide coverage to people with the greatest financial needs. Many health care advocates support the expansion, saying it will allow poor people to receive needed care, while many state officials, especially Republicans, worry that it will bring budget-breaking new costs. ... Arkansas illustrates not only the potential benefits but also the major challenges facing states as they plan for a larger Medicaid program. The state does not have enough doctors and other health care workers to care for all the new beneficiaries, experts say, and state officials worry about the costs (Pear, 6/15).

Meanwhile, CNN examines the effect on young adults.

CNN: For 20-Somethings, Health Care Hangs In The Balance
The legal dispute is centered around the individual mandate provision, which requires most Americans to buy health insurance or face financial penalty. While the mandate is separate from the provision that protects young adults, the court could strike down the entire legislation. This could leave millions of young adults uninsured. About 2.5 million 19-to-26-year-olds obtained health coverage as a result of the provision, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated in December (Fox, 6/16). 

Two justices provide some very small hints about the ruling.

Politico: On Eve Of Health Ruling, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Predicts 'Sharp Disagreement'
With a wry smile, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg laid waste Friday to all those rumors about the fate of the Affordable Care Act in the Supreme Court. "Those who know don't talk. And those who talk don't know," she quipped Friday night at a conference hosted by the American Constitution Society at the Capital Hilton. Ginsburg said she was responding to a "steady stream of rumors and fifth-hand accounts" about the court's deliberations on the law (Cheney, 6/15).

The New York Times: Hints In New Scalia Book Of Views On Health Law
With a Supreme Court decision on the fate of President Obama's health care law expected in the next two weeks, every wisp of a hint about the justices' thinking is getting the scrutiny usually reserved for CAT scans. Justice Antonin Scalia picked the right moment, then, to deliver more than 500 pages of hints, in a book to be published next week. He wrote it with Bryan A. Garner, and it is an overview and summation of the justice's approach to making sense of statutes and the Constitution. ... Scalia writes, for instance, that he has little use for a central precedent the Obama administration has cited to justify the health care law under the Constitution's commerce clause, Wickard v. Filburn (Liptak, 6/15).

But the administration's plans after the decision is released are being held tightly. 

Politico: Democrats In The Dark On Post-SCOTUS Planning
Congressional Democrats who wrote Barack Obama's health care plan into law say they're getting virtually no guidance from the White House on how to deal with the fallout if the Supreme Court overturns any part of the law. There have been no meetings, no phone calls and no paper exchanged with the administration, according to Democratic lawmakers and staff. The top aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, David Krone and John Lawrence, did meet with the White House's chief congressional lobbyist, Rob Nabors, last week to discuss a variety of issues. But Nabors didn't provide any information on how the president plans to approach the court's ruling, according to sources familiar with the meeting (Allen and Raju, 6/15).