archive

June 11, 2012 KHNOne of the largest private health insurers said it will continue to allow young adults up to age 26 to stay on their parents' plans and will end lifetime dollar caps on claims, no matter what the Supreme Court decides. It's the first major insurer to make those promises.

Summary

May 8, 2012 KHNWill the administration's health law survive the Supreme Court? A majority of bettors think not. Over at Intrade, a "prediction market" for current events, the betting gave chances of about 58 percent that the court will disallow the mandate.

Summary

April 26, 2012 Health insurers that haven't spent the required share of premiums on health care will be sending rebate checks to employers and consumers. All told, an estimated $1.3 billion is expected to be returned to customers this summer.

Summary

March 29, 2012 When the Supreme Court justices talk, they let the food metaphors fly. Food, it turns out, is very handy if you're trying to find easily digestible ways to explain complex legal issues, as the justices proved this week. Here's our quick list of where food showed up in the arguments.

Summary

March 28, 2012 The key issue is whether the health law's expansion of the Medicaid program for the poor unfairly compels the participation of states. Many considered this to be the weakest part of the states' challenge to the health law, and during Wednesday afternoon's arguments, justices made their skepticism clear.

Summary

March 28, 2012 Questioning earlier this week suggested the health care law's mandate might be in peril. Today, the Supreme Court considered whether other parts of the law could still stand if the mandate falls. "It looked today that if there are five votes to strike down the mandate, there might be five votes to strike down the whole law," said NPR's Nina Totenberg.

Summary

March 28, 2012 The justices will hear arguments Wednesday over whether the health law's expansion of Medicaid for the poor unfairly forces the states to participate. And their decision could greatly affect the relationship between the federal government and the states.

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

March 28, 2012 If the Supreme Court decides that Congress exceeded its constitutional authority in enacting the part of the law that requires most Americans to either have health insurance starting in 2014 or pay a penalty, does that invalidate the rest of the law? And if not, how much, if any, of the rest of the law should it strike down?

Summary

March 27, 2012 Who offered the most intense questioning? The grimmest hypothetical example? The best food metaphor? Tuesday's session was filled with sharp rhetorical volleys and clever analogies. Here are the highlights.

Summary

March 27, 2012 The U.S. Supreme Court appeared split Tuesday on whether the federal government can force people to buy health insurance. "Three of the conservatives are clearly going to vote to strike it down — that would be justices Scalia, Alito and Thomas," NPR's Nina Totenberg reports from outside the court.

Summary

March 27, 2012 While the Supreme Court considers the legality of requiring individuals to purchase health insurance, others are questioning the economics of the mandate. Some worry that, even with government subsidies, it may be difficult to find the funds to pay for health insurance.

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

March 27, 2012 The health care overhaul law requires everybody to buy insurance. Critics see that as the ultimate threat to individual liberty. On day two of the health care hearings, the most conservative Supreme Court in decades takes up the question: Did Congress go too far?

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist