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.