Many Health Services Hang in Balance Amid ACA Legal Challenge
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Here's your Money Briefing for Wednesday, November 30th. I'm J.R. Whelan for The Wall Street Journal. Millions of Americans rely on their employer-provided health coverage through government-mandated programs and the Affordable Care Act. But a lawsuit challenging a key provision of the law could take away numerous services, including preventive screenings.
then that could result in more than 150 million people losing access to these potentially no-cost health screenings.
Our reporter Stephanie Armour has been keeping a close eye on the proceedings. On today's show, we'll talk with her about where things stand and what a decision could mean for the coverage that many people get through their employers. That's after the break.
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Key elements of the federal Affordable Care Act are hanging in the balance after a judge ruled that the way the law covers some services is unconstitutional.
What is the ACA legal challenge and why does it matter to employer-provided coverage?
If that ruling is upheld, what could it mean for the kinds of services covered under your policy? Let's bring in Wall Street Journal reporter Stephanie Armour for an update. Stephanie, thank you for being with us.
Sure, happy to.
So Stephanie, walk us through the actual case here. What area of the Affordable Care Act is being challenged by the lawsuit and on what grounds?
What's being challenged is a component of the Affordable Care Act that requires insurers to cover preventive care with no out-of-pocket costs, like no deductible, no copay. And the lawsuit is basically saying that in some cases this violates religious beliefs of the plaintiffs and that the services aren't needed. And the plaintiff subjected to some of the coverage, such as the contraception or screenings for sexually transmitted disease and drug use, And they also objected to the pre-exposure prophylaxis for individuals that prevents against HIV infection.
So a district court judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in September. But what's the next ruling that could come?
The next decision is going to be how broad the remedy is. The judge ruled somewhat in favor of the plaintiffs, but basically said that a task force that's assembled to say which preventive services need to be covered that that task force wasn't pulled together correctly, that it violated the Constitution, because the individuals that serve on that task force are volunteers and aren't appointed by the Senate or the president. So the question now is, is this judge going to say that this is nationwide in scope and that insurers no longer need to cover any of the recommendations from the Preventive Services Task Force?
So if the court upholds the Texas ruling, how will it affect people?
Well, that's a good question. And it kind of depends at which level it's at. A number of the people I'm talking to believe this is going to go to the Supreme Court. And so if that happens, that will be the ultimate decision on this. And that could result in more than 150 million people losing access to these potentially no-cost health screenings.
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