As our entire industry awaits the expected June Supreme Court decision on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it feels as if we have collectively boarded a plane with a destination yet to be announced. There's plenty of speculation about the endpoint. Prognosticators have closely scrutinized the interactions between justices and litigants. Analysts have examined each word spoken at the three-day March hearings, and every question uttered by a judge has held prophetic significance.

There is general consensus that our journey will conclude in one of three places: the law will be upheld, the legislation will be struck down or components of it will be found unconstitutional. Regardless of the outcome, my counsel is to remain on the aircraft once it lands. The future of our profession is not tied to the outcome of PPACA—even if it disappears.   

This position is not outlandish because another overarching theme takes precedence. In our quest to read the legal tea leaves, we seem to have forgotten that affordability drives the challenges we face as advisors and brokers. Eliminating PPACA may actually exacerbate the problem. It creates complacency and possibly delays the launch of cost-saving initiatives that innovative firms are in the process of developing.