Report: Obama prepping to revise health law if Supreme Court strikes it down

Anticipating that the Supreme Court might rule against his healthcare law, President Obama has revealed to donors that he could have to revise parts of the policy in a second term, according to a report.

The disclosure, which five Democratic activists confirmed to Bloomberg, runs contrary to Obama's public position that the high court will uphold the Affordable Care Act when it issues a decision later this month.

White House officials are also involved in strategy discussions on how to react to a ruling, good or bad, with groups that backed healthcare reform, the news agency reported.

Obama and leading Democrats have consistently expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will uphold the law and its central provision — the individual mandate that everyone buy health insurance or face a fine.

On Thursday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) repeated her previous assertion that the court would rule 6-3 in the law's favor.

Asked why, she said: "I know the Constitution. This bill is ironclad. It is ironclad.

"Nobody was frivolous with the Constitution and the health of the American people in writing the bill," she said at a press conference. "That’s where my confidence springs from: the merit of the bill and the nature of the Constitution."

But Obama has allegedly made comments at several high-dollar fundraisers since March — when oral arguments before the court were perceived to go badly for the administration — that healthcare could need new attention in a second term, if he is reelected.

One such event was a $35,800-a-plate dinner on May 14, according to Bloomberg, at the Manhattan apartment of Tony James, president of private-equity firm the Blackstone Group.

White House spokesman Jay Carney rejected the news agency's report.

"While I won’t discuss in detail the president’s private conversations, I can say that your reporting, attributed to unnamed sources, inaccurately reflects the president’s views," he wrote in an email.

The report also cited a planning memo it attributed to the White House involving preparations for the Supreme Court ruling.

"The best way to demonstrate public outrage or public celebration about the decision is to stage an event that shows average people actually responding to the news," the memo read.

The strategy was discussed at a May 29 event by health group Protect Your Care that was attended by Obama administration officials, Bloomberg reported.

The Supreme Court is expected to issues its ruling by the end of the month.

---