LANSING, Mich., March 30, 2023 — State Rep. Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo), chair of the House Health Policy Committee, issued the following statement after a federal judge in Texas ruled today that some Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates cannot be enforced nationwide, including those that require insurers to cover several preventive care services at no cost to the patient:
“Access to affordable health care is a top priority of mine. Preventative care, like breast cancer and heart screenings, should never be an afterthought; we should instead be taking all possible steps to prevent life-threatening and costly illnesses. The ruling today at the federal level eliminating ACA preventive health care service coverage only adds more disappointment to a health insurance landscape that many already struggle with, and especially when the continuous Medicaid coverage rule will end on April 1, forcing recipients to begin reapplying or lose their benefits.
“I expect the House Health Policy Committee, which I chair, to hold hearings on this as soon as possible, moving with the same diligence and efficiency you have come to expect from Michigan Democrats. We promised you that we would act on the issues that matter most, and today’s ruling on accessible health care is no exception. We will do everything we can to protect access to preventive care services that Michiganders deserve, and make sure that patients do not get stuck holding the bill.”
The federal decision handed down today in Braidwood Management Inc. v. Xavier Becerra has major implications for the more than 150 million Americans on employer-sponsored private health insurance plans, under which the ACA promises free preventive services. Certain skin and lung cancer screenings, statins for heart disease, medications that prevent HIV, and other services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force would no longer be covered for free, resulting in an increase in the underserved population and worsening of existing health disparities.