Health insurers say free preventive care will continue while lawsuit is appealed

Several groups representing health insurers told Congress that insurers will continue to offer free preventive services while a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act’s requirement continues its way through the court system.

In March, U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor, Northern District of Texas, issued a final judgement in a court case challenging the provision of the ACA requiring most private health plans to cover many preventive services without any cost-sharing for their enrollees. Having concluded in September that aspects of the requirement were unconstitutional and violated religious rights, the judge’s remedy in the Braidwood Management v. Becerra imposes new limits on the government's ability to enforce those requirements nationwide.

The ruling impacts only preventive services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force since March 2010 and primarily impacts lung cancer and skin cancer screening, chemotherapy for breast cancer prevention, statins for high cholesterol and HIV PrEP. Vaccines and other cancer screenings such as mammograms and colonoscopies are not impacted by the ruling.

In a letter sent to Congress,  health insurers indicated their “strong support for continued access to preventive health care for millions of Americans who rely on it.”

Noting that preventive care is popular and effective, the industry groups said they have long supported covering preventive care and will continue to do so. They added that the majority of their members do not anticipate making changes to no-cost share preventive services while the Braidwood case works its way through the courts, noting that “preventive care services remain an important way health insurance providers and employers help keep people healthy and well.”

The letter was signed by the presidents of the American Benefits Council, the Alliance of Community Health Plans, America’s Health Insurance Plans, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, The ERISA Industry Committee and the Purchaser Business Group on Health.