A federal judge in Texas ruled on Thursday that several Affordable Care Act rules, such as those requiring insurers to cover a wide range of preventive care treatments at no cost to the patient, such as some cancer, heart, and STD screenings, and tobacco programs, cannot be enforced worldwide.
The recommendations published by the US Preventive Services Task Force, entrusted with establishing some of the preventive care treatments that Obamacare requires to be covered, were struck down in the new order by US District Judge Reed O’Connor.
Insurers’ Free HIV Prevention Measures
O’Connor’s decision comes after the judge previously stated that the task force’s recommendations violated the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. The judge also ruled that the ACA requirement that insurers and employers provide free HIV preventive measures such as PrEP was unconstitutional.
Other ACA-mandated preventive care mandates remain in effect. The exact scope of the ruling’s impact and the timing of its repercussions are unknown.
The case will almost certainly be appealed, and the Justice Department has the option of asking that O’Connor’s ruling stay until the appeal is heard. The departments of Justice and Health and Human Services have stated that they are studying Thursday’s verdict and contemplating the next measures.
O’Connor is a George W. Bush-appointed judge who sits in the Northern District of Texas and has previously rendered anti-Obamacare opinions in key legal challenges to the statute. The current case would be appealed to the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considered to be the most conservative federal appeals court in the country.
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Wide-Ranging Impact
If the verdict from Thursday is upheld, it could have far-reaching effects for Americans across the country by restricting access to crucial preventative services targeted at early diagnosis of ailments such as lung and colorectal cancer, depression, and hypertension.
Some of the US Preventive Services Task Force’s recommendations, such as lung and skin cancer screenings, the use of statins to prevent cardiovascular disease, and the provision of PrEP to people at high risk of HIV, were made after the ACA was passed.