The stakes of the decision

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that though most Americans continue to oppose the health law, they support many of its provisions. Meanwhile, news outlets continue to report on what the impact would be -- both in terms of people and the markets -- if the law is overturned and these provisions are rolled back.

Reuters: Most Americans Oppose Health Law But Like Provisions
Most Americans oppose President Barack Obama's health care reform even though they strongly support most of its provisions, Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Sunday, with the Supreme Court set to rule within days on whether the law should stand. Fifty-six percent of people are against the health care overhaul and 44 percent favor it, according to the online poll conducted from Tuesday through Saturday (Zengerle, 6/24).

USA Today: Supreme Court's Health Care Decision Could Affect Millions
For most Americans, the Supreme Court's ruling next week on President Obama's health care law will be largely an academic exercise with political fallout -- but not yet personal implications. For millions of people, however -- some young, some old, some sick -- the law already is affecting their pulse rates and pocketbooks, and a decision to strike it down could come with a medical or financial cost (Wolf, 6/23).

Fox News: Health Care Ruling: Who Wins, Who Loses
It's not just the Obama Administration that has so much at stake over the Supreme Court's looming decision over the constitutionality of health-care reform. Don't forget the rest of America. "Pretty much every industry has been in a holding pattern, waiting to see what the court rules," says Joel Ario, managing director of Manatt Health Solutions. "The legislation touches every significant part of the health-care world; health care is 20 percent of the economy, and how the court rules can significantly alter each part -- for better or worse" (Buschman Vasel, 6/22).

CNN: All Sides Preparing For Political Fallout From Health Care Decision
Various constituencies -- the White House, Congress and a myriad of interest groups on all sides -- anxiously wait for the nation's high court to hand down its decision on one of the most divisive political issues it has taken up in many years. Their task has been complicated by a great deal of uncertainty: When will the ruling come down? How many rulings will there actually be since the justices are considering several different aspects of the Affordable Care Act? Will the court decide to deal with the controversial individual mandate, which requires most citizens to buy health care insurance, separately than the rest of the law? Some interest groups have differing statements ready for seven or eight scenarios. Many of the groups will either be at the court each day waiting or race there so they can go to the cameras staked outside (Bohn, 6/25).

Kaiser Health News: Questions Abound About The Pocketbook Effect Of A Court Decision
The prospect of the Supreme Court striking down the entire health law or some of its key elements has many people in Washington abuzz about what happens next. What about the federal grants that have been awarded as part of the law's implementation?  Does the shrinking 'doughnut hole' in seniors' drug coverage grow again? Would consumers lose their protection against out-of-pocket costs for preventive services? (Carey, 6/22).  

Detroit Free Press: For People With Pre-Existing Illnesses, Supreme Court Ruling On Health Care Act Is Personal
As a person with a lot to lose, Deborah Sferlazza anxiously awaits a ruling expected this week from the U.S. Supreme Court on President Barack Obama's landmark health care law. Sferlazza, 54, a disabled Rochester elementary school principal with painful back-related problems, was rejected several times for insurance because of her pre-existing condition. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, which is required by state law to accept her, offered a policy she said she couldn't afford. Last year, Sferlazza finally got coverage through a provision of the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act, which helps create temporary insurance plans for high-risk people through 2014, when broader reforms are set to take place. … "Without health reform, I'll be uninsurable again," said Sferlazza (Erb & Anstett, 6/24).

CNN Money: Will Health Reform Ruling Help Or Hurt Deficits?
From the start of the debate over the current health reform law in 2009, one of the big questions was its impact on deficits. When it passed a year later, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that it could reduce deficits modestly in the first 10 years and then much more significantly in the second decade. How those estimates will change after the Supreme Court rules on the fate of the Affordable Care Act is anyone's guess. The court, expected to issue its decision in the next week, could uphold the law in full, overturn it wholesale or repeal specific provisions (Sahadi, 6/23).

The Associated Press: How Stocks Will Fare In Court Ruling On Health Law
Insurers and other health care companies are facing costly new restrictions and fees under the new law. The Republicans, the party most associated with big business, hate it. So if President Obama's health care overhaul is repealed by the Supreme Court this month, companies would rejoice, right? Well, not all of them. For many companies, overturning the law could mean less profit, not more. Certain health care insurers and hospitals could no longer expect to get payments from millions of newly insured patients (Condo, 6/24).