Healthcare access to erode if law struck down, study says

Most Americans have seen a decade-long erosion in access to medical services that is likely to continue if President Barack Obama's healthcare law is struck down by the Supreme Court or repealed in Congress, a study released on Monday shows. The study, one of a series on the fractured state of the $2.6 trillion U.S. healthcare system published in the May issue of the journal Health Affairs, says access to healthcare deteriorated for U.S. adults aged 19 to 64 between 2000 and 2010, even among those with private health insurance. The age group represents about 195 million people, according to U.S. Census data, and has been targeted for expanded health coverage under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.