The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling that upheld almost all of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) gave practices some certainty knowing that the provisions will move forward. But the November election could introduce that doubt again.
Republican candidate Mitt Romney has pledged to repeal the ACA if elected. That leaves practices “on the bubble of uncertainty” until after the election, says Richard Fairley, M.D., of Dubuque (Iowa) Internal Medicine.
Congress also might delay implementation of the Medicaid expansion program until after the November election, says Paul Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change. But most states likely will participate because of the increased government funding, he adds.
Because the law was largely upheld, the fallout largely will be political and come out during election season, Ginsburg says.
For more, sign up for a free, subscriber-only live chat featuring Michael Cook from 3:30 to 4 p.m. Friday, June 29, at http://daily.decisionhealth.com/Articles/Detail.aspx?id=512969. More coverage of the Supreme Court ruling will be on the PBN blog and http://daily.decisionhealth.com.