Insurance Company Executive Watches SCOTUS Case Closely

Insurance companies have a huge stake in the Affordable Care Act and what happens to it at the Supreme Court.

Many of them backed health care reform while it was being debated in Congress because of the individual mandate, which delivered them a huge pool of new customers.

Striking Down Act Could Increase Premiums

Tony Hullender works with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and he is in the courtroom Wednesday listening to the arguments.

He told Here & Now's Robin Young that if the justices struck down the individual mandate, but kept in place two other provisions, one requiring insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions and the other which says insurers can't charge the very sick higher premiums, it would have "a destabilizing effect on the market and it would drive up premiums significantly."

Affordable Care Act 'Lay Of The Land' For Now

Hullender also said that his company has already been implenting various parts of the law.

"The way we look at the Affordable Care Act is as of now, it is the lay of the land so we're focused on implementing it... If it were to get overruled... we would just have to adapt," he said.