A survey of healthcare law professionals by Bloomberg BNA's Health Law Reporter indicates the most important issue in 2012 will be the Supreme Court's examination of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), despite other important matters requiring resolution.
According to the respondents, the uncertainty that the court case is causing over implementation of healthcare reform will continue to have an effect until the decision is made. All healthcare industry sectors will be affected. The planning and implementation of healthcare exchanges mandated by the law, for example, may be delayed by state government officials who do not expect it to withstand the legal challenge, or uninsured individuals may put off looking for personal health insurance until they are certain the provision requiring everyone to purchase health insurance will remain.
Employee benefit and HR compliance are also major concerns that may be affected by the PPACA, since businesses and organizations cannot be certain whether to plan their efforts around the PPACA's existence or its absence.
Federal budget difficulties give rise to similar uncertainty related to government programs, so the future of Medicare and Medicaid is also uncertain. It is possible if not likely that the initiatives will undergo significant changes to continue meeting people's needs while making them more fiscally sustainable.
