Big day today! We’re on the case.
We point you to the SCOTUS Blog – Live Blogging Coverage – this is the best place to be for informed commentary on the Supreme Court decision and what it means. They say that “We expect the health care decision to be announced at roughly 10:15a. 1045a-1p – live coverage and analysis.”
We’ll update this post periodically through the day with links and info as the day progresses so check back!
MSNBC: Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate as constitutional — but under taxing authority. News media are scrambling to make sense of things.
SCOTUS Twitter feed
There are more than 800,000 people following the SCOTUS live blog right now. Amazing the role blogging is playing in disseminating news. Here is an ignominious “Dewey Wins” style screw up headline from CNN captured for posterity.
Talking Points Memo: BREAKING: Supreme Court Upholds ‘Obamacare’
Full decision available at Ezra Klein’s WonkBlog
President to make a statement at 12:15. You can watch it live at whitehouse.gov/live.
Helathcare Reform Implementation Timeline
We’re making more frequent updates on our Twitter feed.
Tom Lynch, our CEO, weighs in:
American health care costs more than twice as much as the average for the rest of the economically developed nations making up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), but our healthcare outcomes are generally worse than the average. We don’t live longer and we’re not healthier than the others.
Today’s Supreme Court ruling upholding the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act (ACA)is a major step forward in reversing our less than enviable world ranking. But it is only a first step. America’s health care tree, now planted, will require frequent attention and pruning. Congress and the States will modify and improve the law just as we have done in Massachusetts.
Our Massachusetts healthcare law, passed under Governor Romney and the model for the ACA , envisioned tackling this problem in a two step fashion. First, by making health insurance mandatory for all citizens, and, second, by attacking the high costs. We’ve succeeded with step one. About 98% of all Massachusetts citizens are now insured. Two years ago, we dove into the deep end of the pool to begin the serious work of controlling costs. Since then, we’ve seen improvement, but we still have a long way to go.
I’m hopeful that now that SCOTUS has ruled all of us can put our collective shoulder to the healthcare wheel and begin improving our nation’s health and lowering our costs.
Related: The Best Health Care in The World (PDF)
Updates:
Ezra Klein: The political genius of John Roberts
Jonathan Cohn: Did Roberts Gut the Commerce Clause?
Kaiser Family Foundation: State Action Toward Creating Health Insurance Exchanges, as of June 18, 2012
Kaiser Health News: After The Ruling: A Consumer’s Guide
Kaiser Health News: KHN legal analyst Stuart Taylor: ‘Most Amazing Supreme Court Theater I’ve Ever Seen’
Kaiser Health News: Political Leaders Sounding Off On Health Law Decision With Speeches
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker John Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and President Obama react to Thursday’s Supreme Court decision on the health law with speeches.
Charles Ornstein, ProPublica: Mystery After the Health Care Ruling: Which States Will Refuse Medicaid Expansion?
Tags: Affordable Care Act