The Biden administration on Friday appealed a Texas federal judge’s decision to strike down free Obamacare coverage of preventive health-care services starting from screenings for certain cancers and diabetes to HIV prevention drugs.
U.S. Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. Northern District Court of Texas on Thursday struck down an Obamacare mandate requiring most private insurance coverage to cover certain kinds of health care really helpful an independent panel of experts called the Preventive Services Task Force.
“Preventive care is a necessary a part of health care: it saves lives, saves families money, and improves our nation’s health,” said Kamara Jones, a Health and Human Services spokesperson, on Thursday evening after the judge’s ruling. “Actions that strip away this decade-old protection are backwards and improper.”Â
The case will now go to U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. A majority of the judges on that court were appointed by Republican presidents.
HHS estimates that 150 million Americans benefited from the free screenings, counseling, medications and other types of health care that prevent disease under the Obamacare requirements.
Lawrence Gostin, an authority on health law at Georgetown University, said most private insurance coverage will probably proceed to cover these services but charge copays and deductibles. Working class Americans will get hit the toughest and might forgo essential health care because they cannot afford the fee, Gostin said.
O’Connor ruled that Obamacare cannot mandate free coverage of health care really helpful by the Preventive Services Task Force since the organization’s members were appointed in an illegal manner.
Two business owners and a number of other individuals sued the U.S. in March 2020 over the preventive health services mandate, arguing that purchasing insurance that covers drugs that prevent HIV infection violates their Christian religious beliefs.
The plaintiffs claimed of their suit that the mandate to cover HIV prevention drugs “forces religious employers to supply coverage for drugs that facilitate and encourage homosexual behavior, prostitution, sexual promiscuity, and intravenous drug use.”
Additionally they argued the Preventive Services Task Force was appointed in an unconstitutional manner and subsequently its recommendations cannot function the idea of an Obamacare mandate.
It is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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