INTERVIEW: Health Care Expert Discusses Supreme Court Ruling

Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to make a landmark ruling on whether President Obama’s health care law is constitutional. The ruling will directly affect every single American, and the stakes are huge for Minnesota.

Governor Mark Dayton’s expansion of the state’s Medicaid program could change dramatically if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the Health Care Reform Act. The state could have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to cover health care for 84,000 low-income Minnesotans or be forced to drop them.

According to David Schultz of Hamline University, there’s a good chance the Supreme Court will strike down the mandate that everyone buy health insurance. If that happens, Republicans say the House will move to repeal the rest of the law.

If the entire law is struck down, Democrats plan to pressure Republicans to come up with another solution to health care.

Dr. Daniel McLaughlin from the University of St. Thomas joined 5 EYEWITNESS News Thursday morning to help us understand what’s at stake. He’s an expert on health care operations and policy, the author of “Responding to Health Care Reform,” and the former CEO of HCMC.