Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday considered a case that could impact whether Americans have to pay out-of-pocket for preventive-care services such as diabetes screenings, HIV-prevention drugs and statins, which are currently provided to patients at no cost under the Affordable Care Act.
The legal battle is the latest to land before the high court that involves the landmark health care overhaul signed into law by then-President Barack Obama in 2010. But this dispute turns on how to classify the 16 members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which sits within the Department of Health and Human Services and has been making recommendations on preventive medical services to avoid serious health conditions since 1984.
But last year, a federal appeals court in New Orleans found that the task force’s structure violates the Appointments Clause of the Constitution because its members are principal officers who were not properly appointed. Principal officers must be appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
If the Supreme Court affirms the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, major hospital associations and leading nonprofits advocating on behalf of breast cancer and HIV patients have warned it would limit access to life-saving medical care for millions of patients, as insurers would no longer be required to cover at no cost to patients the services recommended by the task force.
Dispute involving Affordable Care Act’s preventive care coverage faces Supreme Court
