Insurer to keep key ObamaCare provisions UnitedHealthcare, the largest US medical insurer, said on Monday it will maintain parts of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law even if the Supreme Court strikes down the legislation in a much-anticipated ruling later this month. The Supreme Court is expected to rule by the end of June whether to uphold the law, with much of the focus on the fate of the "individual mandate" that would require almost all Americans to buy some sort of health coverage. The move by UnitedHealthcare is expected to be followed by other insurers and signals that regardless of the court's decision, provisions of "ObamaCare" will live on. UnitedHealthcare said that it will continue covering preventive healthcare services, such as vaccinations and screening for high-blood pressure and diabetes, with no out-of-pocket charges. It will also allow dependants to stay on their parents" health insurance plan until the age of 26 - one of the most popular parts of the law. "The protections we are voluntarily extending are good for people's health, promote broader access to quality care and contribute to helping control rising healthcare costs," said Stephen Hemsley, president and chief executive. Other provisions that will be maintained include a ban on lifetime dollar maximums on most benefits, and a more streamlined process to appeal claim decisions. It will also continue to rescind cases only in instances of fraud, ending a practice that was previously viewed as a way to cancel insurance policies retroactively. However, unless the court rules otherwise, UnitedHealthcare will stop offering coverage to children under the age of 20 with pre-existing medical conditions, explaining that "one company acting alone" cannot shoulder this burden. Analysts and healthcare experts expect other insurers to follow suit and on Monday Aetna, another big US insurer, said it would also be keeping some of the healthcare provisions regardless of the court's ruling. WellPoint, Humana and Blue Cross Blue Shield were not immediately able to comment. "In many ways, the train has already left the station," Dr Edward Miller, dean and chief executive of Johns Hopkins Medicine, said in an interview. So many people have moved past this already and we've started to see insurance companies bundling payments and employers looking at new innovations. Ana Gupte, healthcare analyst at Bernstein Research, said that UnitedHealthcare was showing leadership and also currying favour with the US government and its customers by keeping the provisions. She suggested that the costs of rolling back features that have been put in place might be higher than retaining them. "I think at least the other major managed care companies will follow suit," said Les Funtleyder, healthcare analyst and fund manager at Miller Tabak. To move away from this is a bit like fighting history. Mr Obama's signature law, passed by Congress with the narrowest of margins two years ago, has been controversial, with Republicans deriding it as an over-reach of government power. It introduced a requirement for everyone but the very poor or those with religious objections to buy some kind of health insurance. After a challenge by 26 US states, the Supreme Court could repeal the whole law or just part of it - most likely the individual mandate - or let the entire act stand. The 2010 law banned insurers from declining coverage to children up to the age of 19 with pre-existing medical conditions, and the administration estimates that 60,000 such people have already been able to buy coverage as a result of the law. UnitedHealthcare did not address another key component of the law that is already in effect: the requirement that health insurers spend at least 80 per cent of premium dollars on health-related costs, not on administration. The move by UnitedHealthcare presupposes the court overturning the entire law. However, insurers are bracing for the possibility that the mandate is struck down but the rest of the law is upheld, forcing them to offer coverage to sick people without the additional healthy customers to help defray the costs. "If that happens, the bill in the long term is not workable," Mike McCallister, chief executive of Humana, said last week. Without the mandate, guaranteed issuance falls apart. You have to eliminate gaming of the system where people buy coverage after they get sick.