The Impact

What will the Supreme Court's health-care ruling mean for me?

Click on the tabs below to see how the three most talked about scenarios could affect you.

• The law is upheld
• The law is struck down
• Only the individual mandate is overturned

If the court decides to void only the requirement that virtually all Americans obtain insurance or pay a tax penalty, the rest of the law will still stand. New rules for insurers that have already taken effect will remain in place. Beginning in 2014, there will also be new opportunities to get coverage, including more generous eligibility rules for Medicaid, state-based marketplaces known as exchanges* (through which individuals will be able to purchase private plans that meet benchmarks for quality), and federal subsidies to help low-income people buy plans on the exchanges. However, many experts warn that without the mandate to get insured, many people would wait until they are sick to buy a plan, driving up the price of plans for individuals and small businesses so high, the law becomes unworkable. Full coverage

Answer the questions below to see how your coverage might be affected.

• The law is upheld
• The law is struck down
• Only the individual mandate is overturned

*The theory is that the exchanges could also help lower premiums by pooling many people in one marketplace and fostering competition among insurers.

GRAPHIC: Wilson Andrews, Karen Yourish and N.C. Aizenman - The Washington Post. Published March 21, 2010. Updated June 26, 2012.