The June 28, 2012 blockbuster decision of the U.S. Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act means that, for many employers, it's time for Risk Managers to start learning about health insurance issues that traditionally have been the sole purview of Human Resources departments.
The days of viewing health insurance simply as an employee benefit are over.
In National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, the Court ruled that the Affordable Care Act is constitutional. The ruling is almost as complicated as the 1,000-page health law itself.
For most employers, the ruling will not have an immediate impact. The ruling does not change any of the effective dates or reforms that were enacted in the Act in 2010. In the years since then, most employers have been engaged in studying and initiating procedures for rolling in the changes. The ruling makes clear that this time was well spent, as those procedures should all be put into place in upcoming years.
Employers, though, would be well advised to have a basic understanding of what the ruling says.
For more information, please see the below article.
Should you have any questions or require additional information, please contact Rhonda D. Orin (rorin@andersonkill.com), chair of the firm’s Health Reform group.
"Supreme Court Rules that Affordable Care Act Is Constitutional; Risk Management Departments – Say Hello to HR," AKO Policyholder Alert (June 29, 2012)