Supreme Court agrees to hear case that puts key Obamacare provisions at risk
The Supreme Court is taking up another case that could weaken key provisions of the Affordable Care Act, CNN reported on Friday.
The high court has already heard three major cases that could have effectively destroyed major provisions of the ACA, popularly referred to as Obamacare: one that challenged the authority of Congress to tax nonpurchase of health insurance and compel states to expand Medicaid; one that tried to defund health insurance subsidies from any health care marketplace not managed directly by states; and one that sought to invalidate out the entirety of the ACA in response to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminating the individual mandate. The law has largely survived these challenges, albeit with some alterations.
The new case the justices agreed to take up, brought by a Texas business, does not seek to overturn the law altogether; however, it argues that any preventative coverage mandates enacted after the law was passed by the US Preventive Services Task Force are invalid because the members of this group were not appointed by the Senate.
It's a similar reasoning that far-right district Judge Aileen Cannon used to dismiss special counsel Jack Smith's indictment against President-elect Donald Trump for hoarding highly classified national defense information at his Mar-a-Lago club in South Florida.
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Many coverage requirements in the ACA, like hospital care, prescription drugs, maternity care, and lab tests, are required by the text of the law itself, and will not be affected by this lawsuit.
However, among the care recommended by the task force that could be struck down are "HIV prevention medications, heart statins and various screenings for cancers and other diseases," as well as "prenatal nutritional supplements, physical therapy for older Americans to prevent falls and lung cancer screenings that, according to the Biden administration, could save the lives of 10,000 to 20,000 Americans a year," CNN reported.
The famously right-leaning Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled to strike down the new preventative coverage requirements on a case-by-case basis for the challengers. Both the challengers and the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to review the ruling, setting up a final determination on the matter.