The lawsuit could determine whether Obamacare can require health insurance providers to cover cancer and HIV prevention services.
The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a federal judge’s ruling to roll back aspects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including provisions that require health insurance providers to cover preventive services such as cancer screenings and HIV preventive drugs. appealed against.
Friday’s appeal comes a day after U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor ruled that requiring health insurance for services like HIV prevention and contraception violated religious employer values.
“The President is pleased that the Justice Department is appealing the judge’s decision,” White House Press Secretary Carine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
“Preventive care saves lives, saves families money, protects and improves our health,” she added. “This decision threatens to jeopardize critical care.”
Thursday’s ruling is one of the most serious legal challenges the ACA, also known as Obamacare, has faced in years.
“While this is unlikely to be a fatal blow to the ACA in the way that previous lawsuits have been, it will limit the hugely popular benefits that tens of millions of people are taking advantage of,” Kaiser said. Larry Levitt, executive vice president of health policy at the Family Foundation, said The Associated Press.
In recent years, conservative groups have stepped up efforts to restrict access to reproductive health services.
Lawsuits against the ACA’s order have been filed by Texas businesses and individuals that cover drugs and services such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) that protect against HIV infection, forcing them to violate their religious beliefs. claimed to be
Their lawsuit claimed that such services “encourage homosexual acts, prostitution, sexual promiscuity, and intravenous drug use.”
Conservative groups are also awaiting a ruling in another Texas lawsuit and want federal judge Matthew Kaksmalik to indefinitely block the sale of a widely used abortion drug.
In an earlier lawsuit, Judge O’Connor ruled that the ACA as a whole was unconstitutional, which was ultimately overturned by the United States Supreme Court.
Conservatives have not been able to successfully eliminate ACA, but the current case could curtail the government’s ability to mandate screening for cancer, mental health problems, and diabetes.
Such a requirement was determined by an agency known as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which O’Connor said was “illegal,” saying it violated the Constitution’s provision for appointing government officials.
Dr. Michael Barry, chairman of the federal task force, said in a statement that the ruling will provide people with “the opportunity to receive these vital preventive services that have proven to help them live longer, healthier lives.” He said he would deny it.
