A television screen at a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange headlines the Supreme Court decision on health care, Thursday, June 28, 2012. Stocks dropped sharply Thursday after the Supreme Court upheld the central provision of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, a requirement that almost all Americans carry health insurance. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the federal health law has raised new questions about exactly how -- and whether -- the state will further expand Medicaid health insurance coverage for low-income residents.

Meanwhile, a key Republican in the state Senate suggested there is no urgency to work with Democrats this summer to create a "health exchange" -- a new type of marketplace created by the law where Minnesotans can start buying coverage late next year. He is confident fall elections will create a Republican majority in Washington, D.C., able to repeal the law.

The partisan divide over how to implement the health law persists at the state Capitol even with the Supreme Court ruling Thursday, June 28, that the federal legislation is constitutional.

On Medicaid, the administration of Gov. Mark Dayton remains committed to a full expansion of the Medicaid program as was envisioned by the 2010 health law. But the court's ruling Thursday made the expansion optional for states -- and leading Republicans think Minnesota would be wise to put the brakes on a further expansion.

As for health exchange planning, some Republicans have called for engaging the Dayton administration in talks on the subject in hopes of promoting free-market elements in the plan. But Sen. David Hann, a leading Republican on health issues from Eden Prairie, said he and others in his party remain focused on what they see as fundamental flaws in the law -- not the need to try to make

On Friday, Hann said voters in November will clearly register opposition to the health law and put Republicans in a position to repeal it.

"People do not want this law," Hann said. Noting that the Legislature won't be back in session until next year, he added: "There's no possible way we can pass a health exchange between now and January."

Signed into law by President Barack Obama in March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act set a goal of significantly reducing the number of Americans who lack health insurance.

In Minnesota, there were about 500,000 uninsured residents last year. With implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the number of uninsured people in the state in 2016 should stand at just 210,000, according to an April analysis conducted for the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

See the original post here:

Health care: Law stands, so must Minnesota get moving?