A collective whiplash transcending party lines occurred when the Supreme Court announced its decision upholding all parts of the Affordable Care Act on Thursday.

At the center of that decision was the notorious individual mandate, which had many spitting venom and vitriol for months. That a majority opinion supporting the constitutionality of the individual mandate became the ultimate judicial word was astonishing to most—no matter what side of the aisle you’d planted your allegiance.

We’re not going to talk politics here, though. There are plenty of people who will be stepping in to that morass throughout what promises to be a spirited election cycle.

Let’s talk about private insurers, an industry that—besides the Obama administration—had the most to lose (or gain, depending on how you look at it) from the decision.

Let’s face it: Health plans are not known for warm and fuzzy. As an industry that is highly focused on mitigating cost, this is probably too much to expect. And, yet, they are at a fork in the road. Besides mitigating cost, health insurers have an opportunity to mitigate perception. (more…)