Judges in Michigan, D.C., and Virginia have upheld the health care insurance reform law. Two judges, in Virginia and Florida, have struck down all or a part of health care reform. All involved agree the matter is headed to the United States Supreme Court.

The Attorney General of Virginia had asked the Supreme Court to take the case directly and take it out of the Court of Appeals. On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected that request. The case remains at the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and is set for argument on May 10, 2011.

Other Circuit Courts in Cincinnati and Washington D.C., have arguments over the Affordable Care Act set for June and September. Court watchers predict that the Circuit Courts will reach different rulings and the matter will be before the U.S. Supreme Court in the spring of 2012.

Just in time for elections...

For Christians around the world, today is Good Friday and marks the start of the Easter holiday for most families. It is the commemoration of the passion story.

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday.

Traffic on the roadways is expected to be congested and busy. I-95 in the east will have a number of construction delays. Even with the threat of $4 or more per gallon gas prices, traffic is expected to be the highest for an Easter holiday in years. Be safe, take your time, and be courteous.

It's a good time to keep in mind the Golden Rule while driving and give the other guy a break.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of North Carolina as they clean up after the devastation wrought by a series of storms and tornadoes over the weekend.

The North Carolina Department of Insurance is available to assist members of the public who have insurance-related questions or complaints. During business hours, call 800-546-5664 (toll free in North Carolina) or 919-807-6750. The Department has issued a press release stating it would "be in touch with top insurance companies doing business in the state. [The Department] will have up-to-date consumer hotline numbers available for those who need contact information for their companies."

The Department has issued a series of helpful insurance tips for those affected by the storms.

I am a lawyer by trade and even I could not make heads nor tails out of a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act health insurance legislation that required businesses to report certain business to business transactions on the IRS form 1099.

The House had repealed the provision back in March and at the beginning of this month the Senate did as well. Yesterday, the President signed the repeal.

Ostensibly, the 1099 reporting provision was designed to increase tax and income reporting and thus increasing tax compliance. However, for small businesses (and I am one) the reporting requirement is onerous. I pay for toner. In my books I record paying for toner. At the end of the year, I know how much I paid for toner if I wanted that information, but I don't. Imagine if your business needed to account and report on a 1099 each $600 or more annual payment to another business. I don't even know the address of my toner guy - I call, it comes, I write a check.

There are a number of potentially beneficial provisions of the Act for small businesses. The Act will certainly benefit those small businesses that already pay some or all of their employees' health insurance. But, as implementation occurs, provisions such as this one may come up as unworkable or particularly obtrusive to small business.