Affordable Care Law: Will the Supreme Court limit free cancer screening and preventive drugs under Obamacare? Who challenged ACA and why?
Results may directly affect access to cost-free medical testing, cholesterol-lowering drugs and early testing services, which have become a conventional benefit under the Affordable Care Act, as stated in the USA Today report.
Prevention scope under Obamacare scanner
At the heart of the legal dispute is the role of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent group of medical experts who recommend that health insurance companies must cover it. The challenger is two Christian-owned businesses and individuals in Texas that believe that certain drugs, especially those that prevent HIV, conflict with their religious beliefs.
Their central legal argument claims that the task force has too much regulation and must be confirmed by the Senate under the terms of the appointment of the U.S. Constitution.
If the court takes this view, the proposals made by the task force since 2010 will no longer bear the obligation of compulsory coverage of insurance companies.
Trump administration defends the law in one step
In contrast to the legal attitudes of the earlier Trump era, the Justice Department under President Donald Trump’s current administration is defending the preventive health care structure of Obamacare.
Government lawyers believe that according to the USA Today report, the ultimate power is not in the task force, but in connection with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Challengers oppose the task force operated independently by design, while the secretary lacked sufficient oversight control to meet constitutional requirements.
They insist that even limited supervision cannot remedy what they believe is improper delegation of power.
Advocates say risky public health
Health policy experts warn that rulings against task force roles could have huge consequences.
Preventive services such as colon cancer screening, mammograms and routine blood pressure tests (not currently required to pay) may become the discretion of the insurance company, resulting in lower visits or increased out-of-pocket expenses.
“Americans will notice whether these benefits go away,” said Keth of the Georgetown University Center for Health Policy.
“If an individual begins to receive the expense of routine preventive visits, it may indicate a rollback expected by the ACA.”
Before Obamacare was implemented, federal data showed that preventive health care usage was less than half of the recommended tax rate, largely due to cost barriers.
Legal history and political colors
The Affordable Care Act faces more than 2,000 legal challenges in the landmark health care reforms passed by former President Barack Obama in 2010.
The latest case comes from a familiar venue: the federal district court in Texas, which has previously ruled the ACA provision.
Although the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals partially supported the challenge, its decision only applies to the plaintiffs involved. Now, the broader legal issue is before the Supreme Court, where the Biden administration tries to prevent nationally weakened laws.
FAQ
What are the Supreme Court cases related to Obamacare?
The case challenges the authority of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) (ACA), which requires insurers to cover certain preventive health services, such as cancer screening and cholesterol-lowering drugs, which are not paid.
Who is challenging the ACA’s preventive health care mission?
Both Christian-owned businesses and several people in Texas are challenging the mission, believing that it forces them to cover up HIV-preventing drugs to resist their religion, and that the task force has unconstitutional regulatory powers.
