WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether some preventive care coverage requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) should be reinstated after a lower court struck them down. This development follows a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with employers who argued they should not be compelled to provide full insurance coverage for services like HIV prevention medications and certain cancer screenings.
The Associated Press reported that the federal government appealed to the Supreme Court following the 5th Circuit’s decision, raising concerns that it could weaken parts of the ACA, sometimes referred to as Obamacare. The appeals court’s ruling was influenced by challenges that cited both religious and procedural objections to some preventive care mandates.
Not all preventive services are affected by the ruling. According to a 2023 analysis by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), essential screenings, including mammograms and cervical cancer tests, would continue to be covered without out-of-pocket costs. However, services such as statins for heart disease prevention, lung cancer screenings, HIV prevention treatments, and medications aimed at reducing the risk of breast cancer in high-risk women may no longer be covered under the ruling.
The lower court’s decision currently impacts only the eight companies involved in the lawsuit, and preventive care coverage requirements remain in place for others.
The 5th Circuit’s conservative ruling argued that the coverage requirements were unconstitutional, claiming a body adopted them—the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force—that was not subject to presidential nomination or Senate confirmation, as required for other federal agencies.
The Supreme Court is set to hear the case in the spring.
