Tag Archives: US health care

Over the past month, pundits have speculated insatiably about the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on health care reform. If the mandate or the entire law falls, there will be tremendous uncertainty about which direction our health system is headed moving forward. How will we expand coverage to the uninsured? How will we contain ever-increasing costs? The answers to these questions will have serious implications for both the future of the health system and—in many people’s minds—the future of the nation itself. The prospect of going back to the drawing board on health reform is striking fear into the hearts of the health policy community. It may be more difficult than ever to make legislative progress against fixing our dysfunctional system. The game has changed significantly since the 2009 debates on the Affordable Care Act. We are now working against more than two years of intense public dialogue and political hyperbole about health policy. Positions on health reform have become a core part of how the public has defined our presidential candidates and the political parties in the face of the 2012 elections. Lines in the sand have already been drawn. Should the Court strike down the mandate and/or other components of the law, the likely outcome will be political gridlock.