A healthcare expert is concerned over the immediate and long-term impact of ObamaCare, now that the law's constitutionality has been upheld.
With the healthcare law now deemed legal, Hadley Heath, a senior policy analyst for the Independent Women's Forum (IWF), says many of the provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will impact regular American families — even those that already have health insurance.
"They can expect to see some changes in the way they interact with their health insurance company, and perhaps even in the type of insurance that they buy," she warns. "Many people get their health insurance through an employer; some people buy it on their own. But there are many regulations in the law that will change the way that works and mandates exactly what type of coverage people have to buy. And coverage for certain treatments will be mandated as well by the government."
Heath is also concerned about the impact the Supreme Court decision will have on jurisprudence.
"So, this is a tax, apparently, according to the court — a tax on inactivity — and that is a new precedent," she offers. "So it certainly changes our relationship to the government in a way that I find is troubling, and [it] may expand the government's ability to manipulate our lives though taxation."
The IWF senior policy analyst estimates the healthcare law will altogether raise taxes by about $500 billion.