INTERPRETATIONS OF THE OBAMA HEALTH CARE LAW AND THE SUPREME COURT'S HEALTH CARE DECISION

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision today (Thursday, June 28, 2012) to uphold President Obama's 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), enacted to increase the number of Americans covered by health insurance and to decrease the cost of health care, means:

1. People with pre-existing conditions must be covered by insurance companies. Further, children under the age of 19 can no longer be restricted to limited benefits or be denied benefits because of a pre-existing condition.

2. Beginning in 2014, it will be illegal for any health insurance plan to use pre-existing conditions to exclude, limit or set unrealistic rates on health insurance coverage.

3. Small Business Owners with more than 50 full-time employees will need to provide health insurance coverage or face fines, as of 2014.

4. Doctors who receive "goodies" (gifts) from medical supply companies will be required to report them to the proper authorities.

5. The Uninsured, under the "individual mandate", will in 2014 be required to have or purchase health insurance or face a penalty. Many, however, will be exempt.

The penalty, in 2014, will be $285 per family or 1% of income, whichever is greater. By 2016, it goes up to $2,085 per family or 2.5% of income.

So-called "health care exchanges" remain in place.

7. The Insured will probably avoid a "spike" in health insurance premiums.

8. Millions of Young Adults up to age 26 who have gained health insurance due to the law will be able to keep it. The PPACA requires insurers to cover the children of those they insure up to age 26.

9. Taxpayers Funding of Health Care

The federal government is set to spend more than $1 trillion over the next decade to subsidize coverage and expand eligibility for Medicaid.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the law could reduce deficits modestly in the first 10 years and then much more significantly in the second decade.

The CBO said a repeal of the mandate could reduce deficits by $282 billion over 10 years, because the government would be subsidizing insurance for fewer people. But the nation faces costs in various ways for having people who are uninsured. The Urban Institute's Health Policy Center estimated that without a mandate, 40 million Americans would remain uninsured.

Meanwhile, the Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) that millions of Americans use to save money tax-free for medical expenses will be sliced under the law. FSAs often allow people to put aside up to $5,000 pre-tax; as of 2013; they were to face an annual limit of $2,500.

[www.cnn.com/2012/06/28/politics/supreme-court-health]