NEW YORK — Retail industry groups criticized the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling to let stand the major elements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) health reform law.

Retail industry groups criticized the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling to let stand the major elements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) health reform law.

"Today’s Supreme Court ruling upholds PPACA’s multitude of reporting requirements and mandates for food retailers and wholesalers to offer health coverage to their employees," Food Marketing Institute chief executive officer Leslie Sarasin said in a statement on the June 28 decision. "As employers of millions of full-time, part-time and seasonal workers, uncertainty still remains for food retailers in every community in this country."

The National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) also cited the burdens that PPACA will place on employers. "We’re disappointed by today’s ruling," NRF CEO Matthew Shay stated, adding, "As it stands, the law wrongly focuses more on penalizing employers and the private sector than reducing health costs."

PPACA takes effect in about 17 months, yet employers have received no real guidance on its implementation, noted RILA president Sandy Kennedy. "With the Supreme Court decision now behind us, the focus must turn to the employer mandate and the effect that impending changes to employer-sponsored coverage will have on the nearly 170 million Americans who receive health care through their employer."