Health care here will feel Supreme Court's decision today

The state will proceed with the development if the law is upheld in its entirety. State Insurance Department officials will otherwise be watching to see how the court decision affects the amount of state money necessary to operate the exchange, whether consumers would still use an exchange without government subsidies and whether the federal government would still fund its initial development if all or some of the law is struck down.

The outcome of the ruling, said Dr. Robert Field, of Drexel University, could greatly affect the health-care community in Philadelphia.

Field, a law professor, said that a rejection of the law by the Supreme Court could lead to a "business opportunity lost" for health-care providers and insurers in the city. Insurers, like Independence Blue Cross, said Field, could lose profits from newly insured people under the law, while providers in the city could lose the benefit of more insured people coming into their health-care facilities.

Nationwide, Field said, the ramifications of the ruling depend on the size and scope of the court's judgment. He said that if the court strikes down only portions of the law, depending on what they are, it could have little effect on the legislation. However, if the court were to strike down the entire law, consumer protections, such as the provision that allows dependents to stay on a plan until their 26th birthday, would be struck down. n

— Staff writer Sean Carlin contributed to this report.