Memo Published June 15, 2012 · Updated June 15, 2012 · 2 minute read
What Now? How to Respond to the SCOTUS Decision on Health Care Reform
David Kendall
When the gavel bangs down at the end of June and the Supreme Court issues their decision on health care reform, there will be a split second before the tsunami of reaction. Everyone will collectively be thinking…what now?
In this memo, we offer advice to supporters of the landmark Affordable Care Act about reacting to the decision under three scenarios: a favorable ruling upholding the law, an unfavorable ruling striking down much of it, and a ruling striking down the individual mandate.
No matter how the Supreme Court rules, the public will be giving health care reform a fresh look—perhaps the most serious look since enactment. Don’t forget, while all 906 pages of this law are widely discussed in the Beltway, most of the public still has no idea what the law does. While the public supports nearly all the individual provisions of health care reform, roughly half do not believe those provisions have even been enacted. They’ll be wondering what the ruling will mean to them and their family.
Regardless of how the court rules, supporters of the Affordable Care Act must use this moment to go to back to basics and explain to people what they are getting in this law—or what they are losing. At a time of unprecedented distrust of Congress and other major institutions, spinning and bickering is not going to cut it. That’s not going to stop opponents from trying to repeal any part of the law that the Supreme Court leaves intact. Right now, the public needs to hear the plain facts and be educated on exactly what is at stake for their families.
Here is our advice:
If SCOTUS Strikes Just the Mandate
One especially dire possibility is that the Supreme Court strikes down only the individual mandate and leaves the insurance regulations intact. Health insurance premiums for millions of Americans will rise suddenly under insurance regulations that let people wait until they are sick to buy insurance.
