Federal Judge Rules Against Some of the ACA’s Free Preventive Care Offerings

March 30, 2023

On March 30, a U.S. district judge in Texas ruled that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirement for insurers to cover preventive health services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is unconstitutional because members of that panel are not appointed by the president and approved by the Senate, violating the U.S. Constitution’s appointments clause.  

This ruling is a blow to efforts aimed at improving health, preventing serous disease, and reducing financial barriers to evidence-based care. Other ACA preventive care mandates from the US Health Resources and Services Administration and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice were left intact.  

Among the affected preventive services are cancer, heart and STD screenings, and tobacco cessation counseling programs. In September, the same judge struck down a requirement for coverage of HIV prevention treatment, PrEP, on the basis that the requirement violated the plaintiffs’ religious beliefs.   

“Thirteen years after becoming law, the ACA continues to be under fire despite how many people it has helped,” said MMA President Will Nicholson, MD. “The MMA supports providing no-cost preventive care because in the long run it leads to lower healthcare costs. It’s always best to find these diseases early and reduce financial barriers to obtaining them.”   

It is not yet known how the Biden administration and Department of Health and Human Services will respond.