Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Constitutionality of Health Care Law

Last week marked the second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act.  The 2010 legislation makes employer-sponsored health care more expensive and more complex, and will make it more difficult for both small and large businesses to offer health care to their workers, which largely goes into effect in 2014. Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on the constitutionality of the law. The court’s decision is expected to be made in June and will likely affect the tenor of the election season. The court is deciding whether the individual mandate in the health care law is constitutional. The court will also decide if the plaintiffs have the standing to be heard on the penalty charges issues for those that don’t obtain their own health care plans.  If the individual mandate is determined to be unconstitutional, it is unclear how this will affect the bill, since this mandate is a key component. The court will also determine if the expansion of the Medicaid program is constitutional. The court is not specifically addressing the employer mandate. At this time, it is unknown what the courts ultimate decision will be or how the outcome could affect the November elections. Also unknown is how Congress may address the law if part or all is deemed unconstitutional by the court. AGC will continue to follow the court’s decision and work with Congress on making the law more flexible for employers. For more information, please contact Jim Young at (202) 547-0133 oryoungj@agc.org.