WASHINGTON, Dec. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Farragut Square Group, a leading national health care policy research firm, today named the five top health care policy developments for the year 2012.

"The year 2012 will go down in history as one of the most important for health care policy because of the legal and political decisions that insured the historic - and controversial - Affordable Care Act or "ObamaCare" will actually become law," said Farragut Square Group President Brian Fortune.  "It also set the stage for major budget battles that will significantly impact health care funding and fundamental health care reforms into the future."

Farragut's top five health care policy developments for 2012 include:

1. The Supreme Court Decision Upholding the Affordable Care Act.  While the Court technically threw out the concept of an individual mandate, Justice Robert's opinion determined the ACA's mandate penalty is really a tax, leaving the ACA in place as the law of the land.
2. President Obama's Reelection.  The President's reelection guarantees that while there will continue to be wrangling over the ACA on Capitol Hill, any efforts to repeal fundamental parts of the law will blocked by a presidential veto.
3. The Supreme Court Decision Making Medicaid Expansion Optional for States.   The Court dramatically increased the role of the states in shaping the ACA's expansion of health coverage for low income adults.   Given Democrats control the White House while Republican Governors preside over 30 states, this decision will create intense negotiations over the ACA for years to come.
4. The Fiscal Cliff.   While most of the fiscal cliff debate has focused mainly on tax revenues, there are hundreds of millions of dollars in potential Medicare & Medicaid cuts at stake, along with proposals for fundamental reforms such as raising the Medicare eligibility age.
5. Defusing the "Third Rail" of Medicare Reform.   The 2012 election was a breakthrough politically in that the debate over retiree health care became more about how to fix Medicare than whether it should be changed.  This represents a major political shift that opens the door to more debate over containing the growing cost of Medicare.

The Farragut Square Group is a leading national health policy research firm that serves many of the top investment funds in the U.S. today. 

Contact: Darrell McKigney

(202) 266-3919

SOURCE Farragut Square Group