Most health care firms expect to benefit from health law

The court's decision to uphold the law is expected to help nearly every corner of the health care industry, The Associated Press reports. But other outlets also note that insurers are concerned about new rules.

The Associated Press: High Court Ruling Benefits Most Health Care Firms
The Supreme Court's decision Thursday to uphold President Barack Obama's historic health care overhaul is expected to benefit nearly every corner of the health care industry by expanding coverage to millions of Americans. But it's not a slam dunk. Hospitals and drugmakers are expected to be flush with new customers because of the law's requirement that most Americans have insurance by 2014 or pay a fine. Insurers also are expected to experience a boon, but they'll face a new round of fees and restrictions. It's unclear if medical device makers will get the same jump in business, and the law calls for them to pay new taxes (Johnson, 6/28).

The New York Times: In Health Care Ruling, Investors See A Mixed Blessing
Hospitals will gain millions of paying customers. Insurers, by contrast, could face crimped profits from restrictive rules. Medical device and pharmaceutical companies will bear new taxes and other higher payouts, but they were already expecting such costs (Pollack and Thomas, 6/28).

Reuters: Hospitals Win In Health Ruling, Mixed View For HMOs
Hospitals and insurers providing Medicaid plans for the poor emerged as the main corporate winners from the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold President Barack Obama's health care law, while investors in large insurers were left deflated. The ruling paves the way for hospitals to see a massive influx of insured customers from the law which is expected to broaden coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans (Krauskopf, 6/28).

Reuters: NYC Public Hospitals See Big Financial Hit From Health Care Law
The New York City Health and Hospital Corporation expects to lose $2.3 billion over eight years from the Medicaid cuts included in President Barack Obama's new health care law. … Alan Aviles, the HHC chief executive officer, said on Thursday that although more people will have insurance, this will not make up for the loss of Medicaid funds (6/28).

USA Today: Insurers Like That Health Law Ruling Sets Their Path
Insurance companies hailed the Supreme Court's ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act, saying it gives them certainty about the rules they'll face as they push to cut administrative costs and reward doctors who contain health care costs by emphasizing preventive care (Mullaney, 6/28).

Kaiser Health News: Hospitals Celebrate Decision, But Threats Remain
Even if President Barack Obama is re-elected, the ruling letting states refuse the act's Medicaid expansion puts at risk billions of dollars in potential federal funding of medical care. "We have a lot of questions about that," said Richard Umbdenstock, CEO of the American Hospital Association. "It wasn't an area that people focused on." That's a financial risk for all hospitals in those states that opt out but especially for "safety net" hospitals that serve the uninsured poor. Not only would the hospitals miss out on the expansion of Medicaid coverage; over time the health act reduces the Medicare and Medicaid surpluses they collect for handling a disproportionate share of low-income patients (Hancock, 6/29). 

Philadelphia Inquirer: Hospitals Delighted By High Court's Ruling; Other Health Sectors Mixed
Hospital executives were delighted Thursday by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision -- called an "unexpected twist" by one -- to uphold the nation's embattled health reform law. "This is good for hospitals because 32 million people will now have some kind of coverage, which they didn't have previously. We had bad debts from this group because they didn't have funds to pay," said Alan B. Miller, chairman and chief executive of King of Prussia hospital operator Universal Health Services Inc. Investors agreed with Miller's assessment, bidding up hospital stocks by an average of 7 percent (Brubaker, Sell, Burling and Von Bergen, 6/29).

Arizona Republic: Obama Health Care Decision Stands To Benefit Hospitals, Insurers
Surprise, confusion and skepticism -- but also a little relief. Those are reactions from the health-care industry and the broader business community after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold the core of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. Reginald M. Ballantyne III, senior corporate officer at Vanguard Health Systems in Phoenix, is a former chairman of the American Hospital Association. Though conceding the law has "complexities, nuances and imperfections," he calls it an important step to reforming the health-care system (Wiles, 6/28).

CT Mirror:  Connecticut Businesses Concerned About Ruling's Impact
Groups representing Connecticut businesses Thursday were wary of the Supreme Court's landmark health care decision, concerned it will drive up costs and even prompt some small businesses to stop offering health insurance altogether. "This is basically a devastating loss for small businesses, which are at the mercy of the law, the law that has already driven up the cost of insurance premiums," said Andrew E. Markowski, state director of the Connecticut chapter of the National Federation of Independent Businesses. While it is too early to predict the full impact of the ruling, he said that, anecdotally, he has heard that many small businesses plan to stop offering health insurance coverage (Merritt and Phaneuf, 6/28).

Los Angeles Times: Retailers, Factories, Main Street React To Supreme Court Ruling
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it respects the decision but called for more reforms anyway, maintaining that the ruling "does not change the reality that the health care law is fundamentally flawed." The Main Street Alliance quoted its members as saying that "this is a good day for small businesses across America ... [that] couldn't afford to go back to the nightmare scenario" before the health care law (Hsu, 6/28).

Los Angeles Times: Olive View Sees Health Care Ruling As A New Challenge
It was a historic moment for the nation's health care system, but a routine one at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center's emergency department. Patients packed the waiting room suffering from chest pains, skin infections, stomach cramps and headaches -- the least urgent cases waiting up to 12 hours to be seen (Bermudez and Zavis, 6/29).