US Supreme Court Reportedly Upholds Part Of Obamacare That Guarantees Health Insurers Cover Preventive Care

The Obamacare law requires health insurers to provide preventive care, including cancer screenings and HIV prevention medication, at no cost to patients.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday reportedly preserved a part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that helps guarantee that health insurers cover preventive care at no cost to patients.

This includes preventive services such as cancer screenings and HIV prevention drugs.

The 6-3 ruling was made in a lawsuit over how the government decides which healthcare medications and services are covered by private insurance under the Act commonly referred to as Obamacare, Reuters reported.

The plaintiffs alleged that the process is unconstitutional because the board of 16 medical experts tasked with recommending which services are covered, known as the United States Preventive Services Task Force, is not approved by the Senate but selected by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.

A lower court had ruled in 2024 that the arrangement violated the U.S. Constitution's provision on the appointment of governmental officers, as put forth by the plaintiffs including Christian employers and Texas residents. An appeal was filed by the U.S. government, initially by Democratic former President Joe Biden's administration before being taken up by Republican President Donald Trump's administration.

The plaintiffs had included a religious objection to being required to cover pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV before the case was narrowed to the appointment of the task force. They claimed that the drugs "facilitate and encourage homosexual behavior, prostitution, sexual promiscuity and intravenous drug use."

If the Supreme Court justices upheld the lower court’s ruling, life-saving tests and treatments that have been cost-free under most insurance plans may become subject to co-pays and deductibles, public health advocates had warned, the report said.

Medications and services that could have been affected include statins to lower cholesterol, lung cancer screenings, HIV-prevention drugs, and medication to lower the chance of breast cancer for women, as per Associated Press. 

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