Morning CheckUp: April 24, 2012

The next health care overhaul? Look to employers: “If the Supreme Court strikes down President Barack Obama’s health care law, employers and insurance companies — not the government — will be the main drivers of change over the next decade and maybe even longer. They’ll borrow some ideas from Obamacare, and push harder to cut costs.” [AP]

California’s working poor would lose a lot if health reform law dies: “If the healthcare reform law is thrown out by theU.S. Supreme Court — as many fear could happen based on the comments of conservative justices — more than 700,000 low-income Californians could lose a once-in-a-lifetime chance to obtain affordable health insurance.” [LA Times]

Al Franken defends health reform: “Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) waded into an old partisan debate Monday when he wrote that skeptics of the 2010 healthcare law might simply not have the right facts. “I ask the American people not to fall victim to disinformation. There are no death panels. The Affordable Care Act cuts the deficit,” he wrote. [The Hill]

Planned Parenthood targeted as Ohio considers grant restrictions: “Ohio lawmakers are considering a budget provision like one that caused five of six Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas to lose funding and, the group says, left poor women without access to preventive health care.” [Bloomberg]

Most hospitals expect health reform to cut revenue: “About 55 percent of hospitals are bracing for a decline in revenue because of health care reform, according to a new survey.” [Cincy Biz Blog]

G.A.O. calls test project by Medicare costly waste: “Medicare is wasting more than $8 billion on an experimental program that rewards providers of mediocre health care and is unlikely to produce useful results, federal investigators say in a new report.” [NY Times]