Supreme Court Upholds Key Obamacare Provision for Free Preventive Care

The Supreme Court upheld a key provision of the Affordable Care Act, ensuring that around 150 million people will continue receiving free preventive services. The vote was 6-3, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh joining the court's three liberal justices in the majority.

The court sided with the government, allowing the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to determine which services will be available free of cost to Americans covered by the Affordable Care Act. The case involved a lawsuit challenging the appointment process for task force members, which two lower courts found unconstitutional but the Supreme Court disagreed.

Justice Kavanaugh wrote that the Department of Health and Human Services has the power to appoint task force members. The ACA's preventive treatments have benefited millions of people, including coverage for preventive PrEP drugs to prevent HIV.

The suit was brought by individuals and businesses with religious objections to the PrEP mandate. The court's decision likely protects existing preventive services under the ACA, such as blood pressure screenings, birth control, cancer screenings, and immunizations.

Proponents of the ACA's preventive coverage had worried that without it, the financial burden of out-of-pocket expenses would discourage people from seeking care early. The court ruled that the task force members are not principal officers and can be appointed by the HHS secretary.