AHA urges court to preserve ACA preventive services requirement pending appeal

The AHA, joined by the Federation of American Hospitals, Catholic Health Association of the United States, America’s Essential Hospitals, and Association of American Medical Colleges, yesterday urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to keep in place pending appeal an Affordable Care Act requirement that most health plans cover certain preventive services without cost sharing. A federal judge in Texas recently vacated the requirement nationwide, prompting the Department of Health and Human Services and plaintiff to appeal the decision.  
 
“Regardless of what this Court decides on the merits, reinstating the ACA’s preventive-care requirement down the road will not remedy the harms that Americans would suffer in the interim if a partial stay is not granted,” the friend-of-the-court brief states. “… As it considers this appeal, the Court should preserve the expert, nonpartisan medical judgment of the United States Preventive Services Task Force and keep the preventive-services requirements in place.”