Court preserves preventive services requirement pending appeal

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit temporarily restored an Affordable Care Act requirement that most health plans cover certain preventive services without cost sharing. The 5th Circuit ordered that this requirement remain in effect (for everyone except the few health plans challenging the requirement) until it issues a final decision in the case, which is expected later this year. A federal judge in Texas recently vacated the requirement nationwide, prompting the Department of Health and Human Services and plaintiff to appeal the decision and seek this temporary stay. 
 
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, had urged the appeals court to keep the preventive services requirement in place pending appeal.