After months of anticipation and speculation, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the key provisions of Health Care Reform, with an exception related to state funding and the expansion of Medicaid. How the Court Ruled Key highlights of the decision to uphold the Health Care Reform law include:
- The individual mandate, which requires most individuals to maintain a minimum level of health insurance or pay a penalty beginning in 2014, is upheld as constitutional under Congress’s power to tax.
- The portion of the law which threatens states’ existing Medicaid funding for failure to comply with the requirements related to expanding the scope of Medicaid coverage is unconstitutional.
- The remaining provisions of the Health Care Reform law are not affected and remain intact.
What the Decision Means for Employers
Now that Health Care Reform has survived constitutional challenge, employers and group health plans will need to continue working to come into compliance with the law’s requirements. If you have not already done so, be sure to review our 2012 Health Care Reform Checklist for a list of important action items and check out the Summary by Year to stay ahead of required changes.