The case could decide whether Obamacare can require health insurers to cover cancer and HIV preventive services.
The U.S. Department of Justice has appealed a federal judge’s ruling that reverses certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including provisions requiring health insurers to cover preventive services such as cancer screening and HIV prevention medications.
Friday’s appeal comes a day after U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor ruled that mandating health coverage for services such as HIV prevention and birth control violates the values of religious employers.
“The president is pleased to see the Justice Department appeal the judge’s decision,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
“Preventive care saves lives, saves families money and 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, otherwise known as Obamacare, has faced in years.
“This is not the potentially fatal blow to the ACA like previous lawsuits, but it would limit a very popular benefit that tens of millions of people use,” Larry Levitt, the executive vice president of health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, told me. the Associated Press.
In recent years, conservative groups have stepped up their efforts to limit access to reproductive health services.
The case against the ACA mandate was brought by Texas companies and individuals, who argued that covering drugs and services such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which protects against HIV infection, would force them to violate their religious beliefs.
Their lawsuit alleged that such services would “encourage homosexual behavior, prostitution, sexual promiscuity and intravenous drug use”.
Conservative groups are also awaiting a decision in another Texas case where they hope federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk will indefinitely block the sale of commonly used abortion pills.
In an earlier case, Judge O’Connor had declared the entire ACA unconstitutional, a decision that was eventually overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
While conservatives have failed to successfully eliminate the ACA, the current case could limit the government’s ability to require coverage of cancer, mental health and diabetes screenings.
Such requirements are set by a body known as the US Preventive Services Task Force, which O’Connor deemed “illegitimate” and stated that it violates constitutional provisions regarding the appointment of public officials.
Dr. Michael Barry, chair of the federal task force, said in a statement that the ruling would deprive people of the ability to receive these important preventive services that are proven to help them live longer, healthier lives.