Most U.S. health insurers plan to continue offering free preventive health services as a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act requirement plays out in court. A federal judge in Texas last month imposed a nationwide injunction on a requirement that health insurance must cover preventive services for free.
"The overwhelming majority do not anticipate making changes to no-cost-share preventive services and do not expect disruptions in coverage of preventive care while the case proceeds through the courts," according to a letter sent to Democratic lawmakers by leading insurers and industry organizations, including America's Health Insurance Plans, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and the American Benefits Council.
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The letter was a response from some of the industry's largest trade groups to Democrats on key House and Senate health committees. They requested information from a dozen major health insurance companies and trade groups, including Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealth Group and American Benefits Council, on whether they plan to continue covering certain preventive services until all appeals are concluded, including review by the Supreme Court.
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The groups noted that preventive care is popular and effective, and that the decision from the federal judge likely is just the start of a lengthy legal process.
"Our associations have long supported preventive care and continue to do so," they wrote. "By responding together, we wish to make clear our strong support for continued access to preventive health care for millions of Americans who rely on it."
The decision from U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor, who previously held that the entire ACA was unconstitutional, jeopardizes access to treatment for the approximately 150 million Americans who use free preventive services each year. It also leaves the door open for insurers to impose deductibles and copays for potentially lifesaving screening tests.
The ACA requires insurers to cover, without cost-sharing, more than 100 preventive health services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. A lawsuit challenged that requirement and led to a nationwide injunction from O'Connor, which ended it as well as invalidating the entire task force.
Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services appealed to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Justice Department has asked for O'Connor's decision to be paused as the appeal proceeds.
If the ruling stands, it won't affect all preventive screenings, because some recommendations predate the ACA. Fifteen states currently have laws on the books requiring individual market insurers to cover, without cost sharing, the same categories of preventive services required by the ACA.
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Alan Goforth
Alan Goforth is a freelance writer in suburban Kansas City. In addition to freelancing for several publications, he has written a dozen books about sports and other topics.
