The Supreme Court on April 21 will hear a case about the constitutionality of a federal panel that issues mandates requiring insurers to cover preventive medical services without cost to patients.
In Kennedy v. Braidwood Management Inc., the justices will consider the constitutionality of a federal law that allowed the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to make binding recommendations about preventive medical services, such as medications and screenings. The legal provision is in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which was enacted in 2010.
The task force, housed within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) now led by Trump appointee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., describes itself as “an independent, volunteer panel of national experts in disease prevention and evidence-based medicine,” who work “to improve the health of people nationwide by making evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services.”…