By MATT CHANDLER
mchandler@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1654

Uncertainty.

Ask most people what they think about the recently passed national health-care legislation - better yet, what they understand - and most express uncertainty.

• When will it all take effect?

• What is the impact on my business?

• What happens if I can't afford to comply with the new rules?

• How will coverage affect my employees, my children, myself?

Experts say such questions are common when a large piece of legislation comes down.

For business owners, most questions are immediately directed to their attorneys, many of whom have been immersed in a crash course to understand the thousands of pages of legislation that make up the new rules.

The Buffalo Law Journal asked some local attorneys who specialize in health-care law for their take on the issue, as well as some of the answers they're giving clients.

Ellen Weissman, Hodgson Russ LLP

Questions: "A huge portion of the health-care bill was ramping up the fraud and abuse provisions and penalties to get revenue to pay for the increased access So we get lots of questions about what the fraud and abuse provisions mean to providers, because those tend to be implemented right away so that they can start recovering that revenue. Many of the other provisions that affect my provider clients get phased in over time, so there aren't as many questions yet about those."

Answers: "In my field (working with providers), my clients are used to this. There is so much state and federal legislation around health care that is passed and then needs to be clarified through either regulations or manuals. The health-care arena has been very heavily regulated for many years, and it is constantly changing. So although this is an enormous piece of legislation, it is something my clients are used to dealing with."

Larry Ross, Hurwitz & Fine PC

Questions: "I think it would be fair to say that people are concerned. None of my clients like uncertainty, and that's what we are facing with this package that is both comprehensive and ill-defined, in many ways. So, yes, I am getting a lot of calls, but they are much more varied than you might imagine. They aren't just calling and asking me to interpret a section of the law. They are concerned about the direction, whether we are going to a certain kind of medicine in this country, what type of health-care delivery system is in the future - those types of questions."

Answers: "You are talking about legislation that is thousands of pages in length, and to grasp that as an individual is difficult for us as lawyers, certainly difficult for our clients and I think even difficult for the politicians who have supported the legislation. This legislation is going to be under scrutiny for some time to come so, again, it is tough to give answers to things that are in some cases unknown."

Art Marrapese, Hodgson Russ LLP

Questions: "My perspective is from that of the employers. We are literally inundated with questions about how health-care reform mandates both now and in the future are going to impact their health-care benefits. We are working very hard with the employers to help them understand how this affects their compliance responsibilities."

Answers: "Heath-care reform from the employers' perspective is being phased in over a number of years (through 2014). Initially, we answered our clients' questions through presentations that covered the entire range of reforms, but recently we have broken down our discussions into action steps they need to know right now. For example, employers who have a plan that operates on a calendar-year basis would become effective on Jan. 1. We are working with those clients to first prepare and communicate through their open enrollment process, and also helping them amend whatever documents need to be amended to conform to these mandates."

Harry Mooney, Hurwitz & Fine PC

Questions: "I don't even think Congress knows what they passed, so of course there are clients that have questions and concerns."

Answers: "This is going to be expensive for some doctors, but it's going to be expensive for ... business owners. National health care may be a noble thing to do, but the question is: Are we going around it the right way?"