If Court Squashes 'Obamacare,' IT May Suffer: HIMSS

If the Supreme Court rules that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, a number of health information technology-related provisions of the law will also fall, and that could disrupt health IT implementation plans, according Richard M. Hodge, senior director of Congressional Affairs at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).

But despite these concerns, Hodge told InformationWeek Healthcare, "We will find ways to move forward regardless of the court's decision. That may be through the private sector, [it] may be through other proposals and legislation…we'll just have to see how that unfolds."

In a fact sheet released to coincide with last week's oral arguments before the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), HIMSS identified key provisions of the law that are heavily reliant on health IT implementation for their success. Those provisions include health insurance reform, the expansion of Medicaid eligibility, and the creation of health insurance exchanges...