The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on the validity of the preventive health services mandate, holding that the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) operates under proper constitutional authority. As background, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires group health plans and insurers to provide specified preventive services without cost-sharing, including items and services recommended by the USPSTF with an “A” or “B” rating. In 2022, a federal trial court held that the members of the USPSTF were unconstitutionally appointed by the Secretary of HHS and thus lacked the authority to determine the preventive services that must be covered under the ACA. The court later vacated as unlawful all agency actions taken on or after March 23, 2010, to implement or enforce the USPSTF-recommended preventive care coverage requirements, and the agencies were blocked nationwide from implementing or enforcing coverage requirements in response to the USPSTF ratings. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit affirmed that the USPSTF’s members were not validly appointed under the Constitution but reversed the trial court’s decision to vacate agency actions and narrowed the scope of the injunction to only the parties that filed the lawsuit. In early 2025, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
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