What's at stake in health law ruling?

News outlets offer perspectives regarding how the much-anticipated Supreme Court decision could impact people without insurance, small businesses and nearly every corner of the health care industry.  

Bloomberg: Uninsured Angst Rises As $1,000 Premiums Looms on Ruling
Barack Obama's political fortunes may hang on the U.S. Supreme Court's view of his health-care law. ... The 2010 law set in motion a contentious transformation of U.S. health care to a system that guarantees cheaper services for some, while imposing greater costs on others, a balancing act meant to assist the 16 percent of Americans who have no insurance. Whether it's Sarah Adkins, an underemployed 25-year- old in Kentucky, or Barbara Kornblau, a mother in Virginia who has been able to keep her adult daughter on her insurance, the Supreme Court's impending ruling on the law is touching a nerve (Nussbaum and Pettypiece, 6/15).

Houston Chronicle: A $7 Million Opportunity
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the Affordable Care Act any day now, and regardless of what it decides, health care organizations are trying to get ready. That includes Community Health Choice, created by the Harris County Hospital District 15 years ago when the state began nudging Medicaid patients into managed care. But the health care reform law requires states to extend Medicaid coverage in 2014 to people earning up to 133 percent of the poverty level, or about $14,400 for an individual….So CHC is offering $7 million to clinics serving low-income populations throughout Southeast Texas in an effort to expand the number of people it serves (Keaver, 6/14).

Reuters: Any Supreme Court Ruling Hurts Nonprofit Hospitals
No matter how the Supreme Court decides on the national healthcare law, nonprofit hospitals will face a rocky future, Moody's Investors Service said in a study published on Thursday. … According to Moody's, the best possible outcome from the Supreme Court would be a full confirmation of the law, dubbed "Obamacare." That would be "credit neutral," the agency said (6/14).

Marketplace:  What Do Americans Think About Health Care Reform?  Interview With Frank Newport
Sarah Gardner: Any day now, the Supreme Court will rule on President Obama's health care overhaul -- "Obamacare" as dubbed by its critics. The court may strike down the whole thing or just parts of the new law. Whatever happens, some big health insurers have already said they're gonna keep up some of the reforms in the Affordable Healthcare Act. Question is, what do the people think of it (Gardner, 6/14)?

CNN Money: Health Reform: What's At Stake For Small Business
The health reform law is chock full of new rules and benefits for small businesses -- and all are now on the line at the Supreme Court. The 2010 Affordable Care Act includes everything from a different way to shop for insurance to a tax credit that rewards employers for insuring workers. The Supreme Court's decision on the law's constitutionality is due out later this month, even as soon as Monday. Generally speaking, there are three main possible outcomes: Health care reform could be upheld entirely or struck down entirely, or the court could do away with only some provisions (Pagilery, 6/15).

Fox News: As Health-Care Reform Decision Draws Near, Small Business Owners Show Support
The Supreme Court is expected any day now to announce its decision on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care act, just as small-business owners are showing more support for the controversial bill. According to a poll released Thursday from the Small Business Majority, half of small-business owners want President Obama's reform bill upheld, either as it stands or with minor changes. After learning more about the law, 56% said they would like the bill kept intact with only minor changes. On the other hand, one-third of U.S. entrepreneurs want the nation's highest court to overturn the law. The group polled 800 small business owners from Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Texas and Virginia (Rogers, 6/14).

Market Watch: Next Clash For Health Stocks Already In Sight
In the battles to come for health-care companies and their stocks, the future is about so much more than the Supreme Court. No matter how the high court rules in coming days on the industry's landmark legal overhaul, analysts say, the nation already has locked itself into a do-or-die mission to rein in the skyrocketing cost of care. And the way those efforts are unfolding, the sector's medical-gear suppliers -; providers of everything from implantable heart defibrillators to tongue depressors -; could end up paying the price for decades of out-of-control inflation (Britt, 6/15).

Kaiser Health News: N.Y. Insurance Co. Exec: 'Life Will Go On,' Expensively, Without Individual Mandate (Video)
If the Supreme Court strikes down the health law, New York would be in a somewhat unique position, according to David Abernethy, a senior vice president of EmblemHealth. Its companies, Group Health Inc. and HIP Health Plan, insure almost 3 million people in the state (6/14). 

Kaiser Health News: Oregon's DeMars: SCOTUS Decision Won't Change State's Reform Plans (Video)
In many ways, Oregon is already making changes called for in the health law. And even if the Supreme Court overturns the law, Chris DeMars, a senior program officer at Oregon's Northwest Health Foundation, expects the state to move forward with insurance exchanges and an effort to coordinate care, especially among the state's Medicaid patients. DeMars cautions, however, that without help from Washington, Oregon may have to scale back what it will do (6/14).