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More than 60 leading medical groups, led by the American Medical Association, are expressing concern that a federal court case could cause millions of Americans to lose access to preventive care under the Affordable Care Act.
Kelley v. Becerra, a lawsuit before a federal district court judge in the Northern District of Texas, focuses on the section of the act requiring insurers and group health plans to cover more than 100 preventive health services at no cost to consumers.
"With an adverse ruling, patients would lose access to vital preventive health care services, such as screening for breast cancer, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, heart disease, diabetes, preeclampsia and hearing, as well as access to immunizations critical to maintaining a healthy population," the associations write in a statement.
The court held a hearing in late July to determine the constitutionality of section 2713 of the ACA, which requires non-grandfathered group health plans and health insurance issuers to provide coverage for preventive health care services without patient cost-sharing.
"For more than a decade, expanded coverage of preventive health care services has made an enormous positive impact on patient health," the statement says. "This court case jeopardizes that progress."
More than 150 million people with private insurance, including 58 million women and 37 million children, can receive preventive services without cost-sharing under the ACA, according to the statement, which cites a January 2022 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Additionally, the report shows that the ACA increased colon cancer screening, vaccinations, use of contraception and chronic disease screening, and studies have shown a reduction in racial and ethnic disparities in the use of preventive care since the ACA was enacted.
"Our patients cannot afford to lose this critical access to preventive health care services," the statement concludes. "Rolling back this access would reverse important progress and make it harder for physicians to diagnose and treat diseases and medical conditions that, if caught early, are significantly more manageable."
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