The week ahead: Anticipation builds for high court decision

Anticipation is building for the Supreme Court’s decision on the healthcare reform law.

The Obama administration has been guarded about the possibility that the court might strike down the law or its central provision, the individual mandate. But Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius acknowledged Thursday that "we'll be ready for contingencies" if the law isn’t upheld, and President Obama has reportedly expressed concerns that he might have to revisit healthcare in a second term. 

Republicans, meanwhile, have said consistently that they will work to repeal the rest of the law if only the mandate is struck down. Last week, the National Republican Congressional Committee unveiled a multiplatform campaign against the law dubbed "I Want Repeal" in an effort to set the tone ahead of the decision.

But Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was also quiet when asked whether Republicans would take immediate action to help people who might lose their health coverage because of the Supreme Court ruling.

As both parties brace for the result, several polls have revealed strong public support for a decision against part or all of the law. One survey released Thursday found that nearly seven in 10 Americans want either the entire law or the mandate struck down.

The court will issue its opinions by the end of month, though no one knows the exact date.

On Monday, the White House will continue to tout the law in an online town hall on seniors’ healthcare. Sebelius will do the same at a community event on Capitol Hill. On Wednesday, she'll appear in conversation with talk radio host Bill Press at the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital.  Press is also a columnist for The Hill.

Capitol Hill will be fairly quiet this week with the House out of session. On Tuesday in the Senate, the Appropriations subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education will meet to consider the fiscal 2013 appropriations bill. 

Outside Washington, but streaming online, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will hold its spring meeting in Atlanta on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The event is sure to touch on the Obama administration's birth control coverage mandate during a two-hour scheduled discussion on religious liberty.