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SCOTUS Likely to Keep Preventative Care04/22 06:02
The Supreme Court seemed likely to uphold a key preventive-care provision of
the Affordable Care Act in a case heard Monday.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court seemed likely to uphold a key
preventive-care provision of the Affordable Care Act in a case heard Monday.
Conservative justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, along with the
court's three liberals, appeared skeptical of arguments that Obamacare's
process for deciding which services must be fully covered by private insurance
is unconstitutional.
The case could have big ramifications for the law's preventive care coverage
requirements for an estimated 150 million Americans. Medications and services
that could be affected include statins to prevent heart disease, lung cancer
screenings, HIV-prevention drugs and medication to lower the chance of breast
cancer for high-risk women.
The plaintiffs argued that requirements to cover those medications and
services are unconstitutional because a volunteer board of medical experts that
recommended them should have been Senate- approved. The challengers have also
raised religious and procedural objections to some requirements.
The Trump administration defended the mandate before the court, though
President Donald Trump has been a critic of the law. The Justice Department
said board members don't need Senate approval because they can be removed by
the health and human services secretary.
A majority of the justices seemed inclined to side with the government.
Kavanaugh said he didn't see indications in the law that the board was designed
to have the kind of independent power that would require Senate approval, and
Barrett questioned the plaintiff's apparently "maximalist" interpretation of
the board's role.
"We don't just go around creating independent agencies. More often, we
destroy independent agencies," said Justice Elena Kagan said about the court's
prior opinions.
Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas seemed likely to side with the
plaintiffs. And some suggested they could send the case back to the
conservative U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. That would likely leave
unanswered questions about which medications and services remain covered.
A ruling is expected by the end of June.
The case came before the Supreme Court after the appeals court struck down
some preventive care coverage requirements. It sided with 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.
They were represented by 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.
Not all preventive care was threatened by the ruling. A 2023 analysis
prepared by the nonprofit KFF found that some screenings, including mammography
and cervical cancer screening, would still be covered without out-of-pocket
costs.
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.
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