SCOTUS to hear ObamaCare free care case
ObamaCare requires insurers to cover, without cost-sharing, more than 100 preventive health services recommended by an outside panel of experts called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).
The requirement extends coverage of evidence-based preventive services such as cancer screening, tobacco cessation, contraception and immunizations, without cost-sharing, to more than 150 million people each year.
Without the requirement, health plans and employers can pick and choose which preventive services they cover. Cost-sharing will likely deter patients — particularly those of limited means — from scheduling those procedures.
'We know that if costs are reintroduced, people just don't seek care,' said Eric Waskowicz, senior state policy manager at the advocacy group United States of Care. 'And so I think we all have an interest in keeping no cost preventive care in place.'
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case in June.
'The minute that provision gets struck down … we will be back at the mercy of the insurance companies. They'll still get the same premium from you, but they'll offer less services,' said Leslie Dach, executive chair of the Democratic-aligned group Protect Our Care.
The lawsuit began in 2022 when a group of conservative Texas employers and individuals challenged the coverage requirement, arguing the task force's members are not appointed by the president or confirmed by the Senate, yet its recommendations are binding.
Initially, a district court judge agreed with the plaintiffs and invalidated the entire task force. Last year, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the employers but limited the decision to just the eight Texas companies involved in the case, rather than nationwide.
The Biden administration appealed. Then, in a surprising move, the Trump administration earlier this year said it will continue to defend the law.
But some legal experts said the arguments being presented by the Justice Department indicate a desire to give Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. substantial control over an independent government task force.
The administration argues the HHS secretary has the ultimate say over both the recommendations and the individual members of the panel, meaning he can dismiss members or block recommendations he does not agree with.
Even if the court upholds the task force's constitutionality, 'the question will then be, will HHS follow the science and uphold the USPSTF recommendations, or will it take a different course? And that, obviously, is something that everyone will be watching very carefully,' said Andrew Pincus, a partner at Mayer Brown LLP.
Pincus filed a brief on behalf of the American Public Health Association, which argued that invalidating the mandate could increase the cost of preventive care and the cost of health care overall, as patients would delay treatment for preventable diseases and emergencies.
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Politico
2 hours ago
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The MAHA wave
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The advances seen in state capitols, often considered laboratories for federal rulemaking, offer a glimpse into how a Kennedy-run Department of Health and Human Services might turn MAHA priorities into regulation. The White House is set to release a final MAHA report, which will include recommendations to fight chronic disease. Details: POLITICO tracked nearly 900 measures on MAHA-aligned subjects that were introduced in 50 states this year — a 45 percent increase from the previous year and measures introduced in 2023 among the four states that meet every two years. Measures ranged from banning the use of food dyes to limiting children's access to social media over mental health concerns to restricting the use of mRNA, the technology behind the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines. The surge in state activity underscores the growing political clout of the MAHA base, which cuts across party lines, and offers MAHA supporters a chance to secure policy wins outside a White House navigating competing interests. Following intense pressure from agricultural lobbyists, the Trump administration assured farm groups earlier this summer that the final MAHA report would include no new policy around pesticide use despite linking the chemical to cancer in a May draft report. Bipartisan appeal? Blue states New York and New Jersey led the country in the number of MAHA-aligned measures introduced this year, followed by Republican-led Texas. While some topics, like ending vaccine mandates, were predominantly backed by one party, a few themes had bipartisan traction: Roughly a third of measures to improve nutrition and restrict food additives were sponsored by at least one member of each party this year. 'We see so much state activity. … It's bipartisan. They're tapping into something that most Americans know intuitively. MAHA will persist when Kennedy is gone in the future,' said Joel White, a Republican health care strategist and founder of Horizon Government Affairs, a Washington lobbying firm. WELCOME TO THURSDAY PULSE. Adults in the U.S. are drinking less and worrying more about alcohol's health effects, according to new numbers from Gallup. Send your tips, scoops and feedback to khooper@ and sgardner@ and follow along @kelhoops and @sophie_gardnerj. At the White House PRASAD BACKSTORY — White House chief of staff Susie Wiles advocated to bring back the FDA's top vaccine regulator, Dr. Vinay Prasad, after he was pushed out following social media attacks from MAGA influencer Laura Loomer, POLITICO's David Lim, Dasha Burns and Tim Röhn report. Wiles' decision to advocate on Prasad's behalf, as described to POLITICO by two senior administration officials granted anonymity to discuss sensitive details, came after pleas from both Prasad's boss, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. They insisted that Prasad is part of Kennedy's broader Make America Healthy Again movement to combat chronic diseases and integral to the Trump coalition. Loomer did not respond immediately to a request for comment. The FDA referred questions to the White House. 'Secretary Kennedy and the entire HHS team are doing a terrific job as they deliver on President Trump's mandate to Make America Healthy Again,' White House spokesperson Kush Desai said. 'Scores of prominent restaurant chains and food brands dropping artificial ingredients from our food supply and historic reforms at the FDA to fast-track lifesaving drugs and treatments prove that the entire HHS team is delivering for the American people.' 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