May 16, 2023 – A federal appeals court has temporarily restored the Affordable Care Act’s requirement for health insurers to totally pay for certain preventive services.
The decision was issued on Monday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the fifth Circuit in New Orleans. The New York Times reportedThe move overturns a March judge's ruling that it is against the law to require insurers to pay for contraceptives or HIV prevention treatments on religious grounds. That March ruling can have overturned ACA rules requiring insurers to totally cover many preventive treatments, including cancer and depression screenings, many heart drugs and prenatal services, in accordance with a Summary from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a health policy think tank.
Up to 150 million Americans may very well be affected by the ruling if the US Department of Justice's appeal is unsuccessful, the JustRepealing the ACA's requirement for insurers to pay for preventive care would apply to individuals who have private medical health insurance, akin to through their employer or through marketplaces akin to HealthCare.gov.
It is unclear whether insurers have already modified their coverage of preventive care advantages because the ruling earlier this 12 months.
The lawsuit is one among greater than 2,000 filed against the ACA because it went into effect in 2010. This latest legal battle was initiated by a Christian employer who challenged a requirement that its private medical health insurance company cover HIV prevention treatments (often known as PrEP), which may reduce the chance of HIV infection through injecting drugs or sex.
“It has been proven that the obligation of health insurance companies to cover preventive measures without cost sharing saves lives,” the federal government said in its court filings. The hill reported“Its abolition would have the opposite effect.”