High court's health law ruling likely to renew debate on range of issues

News outlets report on what's at stake in terms of politics and policies when the Supreme Court issues its health law decision.

McClatchy Newspapers: Supreme Court Health-Law Ruling Will Only Begin More Debate
If the entire Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act survives, Republicans will introduce repeal bills to keep the debate roiling. If the law dies, Democrats will turn an "activist" Supreme Court into a juicy campaign target while lawmakers from both parties resurrect certain favored portions of the measure. If the individual mandate to purchase coverage is cut out but the rest of the law is left intact, lawmakers and insurance companies will be figuring out how to manage what remains (Doyle and Lightman, 6/21)?

The Associated Press: High Court Could Rule On Health Care Law Next Week
The wait is almost over for the Supreme Court's verdict on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. The court is heading into what is looking like its final week with cases on health care, Arizona's immigration law, lying about military medals, juvenile sentencing and real estate kickbacks still to be decided (6/22).

Bloomberg:  Law Experts Say Health Measure Legal As Some Doubt Court Agrees
The U.S. Supreme Court should uphold a law requiring most Americans to have health insurance if the justices follow legal precedent, according to 19 of 21 constitutional law professors who ventured an opinion on the most-anticipated ruling in years.  Only eight of them predicted the court would do so (Drummond, 6/2).

The Washington Post: Supreme Court Health-Care Ruling Likely To Have Long-Term Fallout
Though no one outside the Supreme Court has an inkling how it is going to rule on President Obama's health-care law, the political fallout -; at least initially -; is easy to predict. … However the court comes down, most Americans are not likely to be happy with the result. In a poll released Monday, the Pew Research Center asked about all three scenarios and found that fewer than half of those surveyed would be satisfied with any of them (Tumulty, 6/21).

The New York Times: Billions Of Dollars Are In Play Over Health Care Law
By the end of June, the court is expected to decide whether some or all of the Obama administration's health care law is constitutional. While speculation has focused on how the decision would affect the future of the nation's health insurance market, little attention has been paid to the tens of billions of dollars in federal money appropriated for a host of other provisions in the law. Exactly what happens to the money for those programs if the Supreme Court decides to overturn the entire law is unclear (Abelson, 6/21). 

NPR: Why Many Young Adults Might Lose Coverage If Health Law Falls
Last week, major health insurance companies, including United Healthcare, Aetna and Humana, announced they would continue to offer the benefit even if the Supreme Court strikes down the law when it issues its ruling, which is expected next week. Even some Republicans say they support the idea of letting young people remain on their parents' health plans. But it turns out that might not be so easy (Rovner, 6/22).

The New York Times: Those Already Ill Have High Stake In Health Ruling
No other group of Americans faces higher stakes in the impending Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act than those with pre-existing conditions. The law, once its major provisions take effect, would prohibit insurance companies from turning people away or charging them more because they are sick. In exchange, most Americans would be required to have insurance, broadening the base of paying customers with an infusion of healthy people. Those who did not buy insurance would be subject to financial penalties (Tavernise, 6/21). 

Kaiser Health News: Health Law Is Mixed Bag For Employers
A decision to invalidate the entire health care law would have vastly different effects on employers, depending on their size (Appleby, 6/21).

Kaiser Health News: New Consumer Protections Depend On High Court's Ruling
Riding on the outcome are a host of popular consumer protections, many aimed at the estimated 18 million Americans who buy their own coverage and who face greater obstacles and costs than those who get coverage through their jobs (Appleby, 6/21).

Meanwhile -

Kaiser Health News: 'Rest Of The Country Should Take A Good Look At The Situation In Texas'
They say everything is bigger in Texas, and the problem of the uninsured is no exception. The Houston metropolitan area has one of the highest rates of uninsured people in America, and a health safety net imploding under the demands of too many people and too few resources. Almost one in three residents – more than a million people -- lack health insurance, and about 400 are turned away every day from the county hospital district's call center because they can't be accommodated at any of its 23 community or school-based centers (Rabin, 6/21).