Supreme Court preserves Obamacare coverage of preventive health care
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Supreme Court preserves key part of Obamacare coverage requirements
The 6-3 ruling comes in a lawsuit over how the government decides which health care medications and services must be fully covered by private insurance. The plaintiffs said the process is unconstitutional because a volunteer board of medical experts tasked with recommending which services are covered is not Senate approved. The Justice Department said board members don’t need Senate approval because they can be removed by the health and human services secretary. The case came before the Supreme Court after an appeals court struck down some preventive care coverage requirements.
The 6-3 ruling comes in a lawsuit over how the government decides which health care medications and services must be fully covered by private insurance under former President Barack Obama’s signature law, often referred to as Obamacare.
The plaintiffs said the process is unconstitutional because a volunteer board of medical experts tasked with recommending which services are covered is not Senate approved.
President Donald Trump’s administration defended the mandate before the court, though the Republican president has been a critic of his Democratic predecessor’s law. The Justice Department said board members don’t need Senate approval because they can be removed by the health and human services secretary.
Medications and services that could have been affected include statins to lower cholesterol, lung cancer screenings, HIV-prevention drugs and medication to lower the chance of breast cancer for women.
The case came before the Supreme Court after an appeals court struck down some preventive care coverage requirements. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Christian employers and Texas residents who argued they can’t be forced to provide full insurance coverage for things like medication to prevent HIV and some cancer screenings.
Well-known conservative attorney Jonathan Mitchell, who represented Trump before the high court in a dispute about whether he could appear on the 2024 ballot, argued the case.
The appeals court found that coverage requirements were unconstitutional because they came from a body — the United States Preventive Services Task Force — whose members were not nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
A 2023 analysis prepared by the nonprofit KFF found that ruling would still allow full-coverage requirements for some services, including mammography and cervical cancer screening.
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Supreme Court upholds Obamacare provision for no-cost preventive services
The 6-3 ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by a group of Christian-owned businesses. The plaintiffs said the process is unconstitutional because a volunteer board of medical experts is not Senate-approved. The Justice Department said board members don’t need Senate approval because they can be removed by the health and human services secretary. The ruling would still allow full-coverage requirements for some services, including mammography and cervical cancer screening, a 2023 analysis found.
The 6-3 ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by a group of Christian-owned businesses alleging the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which chooses what services will be covered, is composed of members who were not validly appointed. Its 16 members are appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services without Senate confirmation.
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The plaintiffs said the process is unconstitutional because a volunteer board of medical experts tasked with recommending which services are covered is not Senate-approved.
President Donald Trump’s administration defended the mandate before the court, though the Republican president has been a critic of his Democratic predecessor’s law. The Justice Department said board members don’t need Senate approval because they can be removed by the health and human services secretary.
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Medications and services that could have been affected include statins to lower cholesterol, lung cancer screenings, HIV-prevention drugs and medication to lower the chance of breast cancer for women.
The case came before the Supreme Court after an appeals court struck down some preventive care coverage requirements. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Christian employers and Texas residents who argued they can’t be forced to provide full insurance coverage for things like medication to prevent HIV and some cancer screenings.
Well-known conservative attorney Jonathan Mitchell, who represented Trump before the high court in a dispute about whether he could appear on the 2024 ballot, argued the case.
The appeals court found that coverage requirements were unconstitutional because they came from a body — the United States Preventive Services Task Force — whose members were not nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
A 2023 analysis prepared by the nonprofit KFF found that ruling would still allow full-coverage requirements for some services, including mammography and cervical cancer screening.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
Supreme Court upholds key Obamacare measure on preventive care
Supreme Court upholds key Obamacare measure on preventive care provision. Vote was 6-3, with Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh in the majority. Case arose when the preventive care task force classified pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drugs as essential to preventing HIV. Without ACA coverage, PrEP care would be astronomically expensive for most Americans, experts say.. The court’s decision likely will protect other existing preventive services under ACA, including blood pressure screenings, as well as birth control, breast and lung cancer screenings, immunizations, and more. and more than 150 million people will continue getting many free, preventive services in the U.S. under the Affordable Care Act. and other health care reform measures. and many others.
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The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a key provision of the Affordable Care Act, ensuring, at least for now, that some 150 million people will continue getting many free, preventive services under the act.
The vote was 6-3, with Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh joining the court’s three liberal justices in the majority.
Siding with the government on Friday, the court upheld the Affordable Care Act, allowing the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to continue determining which services will be available free of cost to Americans covered by the Affordable Care Act.
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At issue in the case was a lawsuit that sought to undo the preventive care provision by challenging the appointment process for members of a 16-person task force that determines which preventive services are to be provided for free under insurance policies. Two lower courts found that the appointments were unconstitutional, but on Friday, the Supreme Court disagreed.
Writing for the court majority, Justice Kavanaugh said the Department of Health and Human Services has the power to appoint members of the task force.
“Task Force members are supervised and directed by the Secretary, who in turn answers to the President, preserving the chain of command in Article II,” Kavanaugh wrote.
The ACA’s preventive treatments have benefited millions of people since the health care law went into effect 11 years ago — a sufficiently long time for most people to take the free coverage for granted. Activists argued that if the court ruled for the groups challenging the law, the benefits could disappear.
Friday’s case arose when the preventive care task force classified pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drugs as essential to preventing HIV. Preventive PrEP coverage under the ACA includes not only HIV testing and medication, but also clinic visits and lab testing without added cost-sharing. Without ACA coverage, PrEP care would be astronomically expensive for most Americans.
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The suit was brought by individuals and businesses with religious objections to the PrEP mandate—they claimed that providing PrEP coverage encourages “sexual behaviors and drug use” antithetical to their Christian beliefs.
Braidwood Management, the case’s named plaintiff, is led by Republican mega donor Steven Hotze who has referred to members of the LGBTQ+ community at different times as “morally degenerate,” “satanic,” and “termites.” Hotze, has challenged the ACA in at least two other federal lawsuits.
The court’s decision on preventive care likely will protect other existing preventive services under ACA, including treatment for blood pressure screenings, as well as birth control, breast and lung cancer screenings, immunizations, and more.
Prior to the court’s decision on Friday, proponents of the ACA’s existing preventive coverage had worried that without it, the financial burden of out-of-pocket expenses for these services would have discouraged people from getting care to prevent or detect disease at an early and treatable stage.
“I cannot think of another health policy that impacts more Americans than the preventive services provision,” said Dr. Mark Fendrick, a professor of medicine and public health at the University of Michigan.
Two lower courts in Texas found that the government violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution because its task force members were appointed not by the president, but by the secretary of Health & Human Services.
The Supreme Court, however, disagreed, declaring that the task force was not composed of principal officers who must be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Rather, the court said, the advisory panel is composed of “inferior officers,” who may be appointed by a department head if that power is designated by Congress. Moreover, as the government pointed out in its briefs, the task force members are directly supervised by the HHS secretary, and members can be terminated at will.