The court’s decision isn’t a small one — hospitals are expecting a large wave of newly insured patients in 2014, when the individual mandate is slated to go into effect. If it’s struck and the other provisions remain, hospitals may not get those new patients but still experience billion-dollar reductions in reimbursement under the law.
According to the report, many hospital executives are viewing the issue as something out of their control but acknowledging the complexity of the Supreme Court decision. Alan B. Miller, CEO of King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services, said in the report that “It’s not like watching a baseball game.”
Universal Health executives have not been focusing on the Supreme Court arguments as they occur. Mr. Miller said if the mandate is struck, the company will “move forward,” according to the report. “I’m not throwing up my hands,” he said.
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