Affordable Care Act

Affordable Care Act / en Mon, 28 Apr 2025 01:38:46 -0500 Thu, 05 Dec 24 13:20:15 -0600 CMS says nearly 988,000 have enrolled for new Marketplace coverage /news/headline/2024-12-05-cms-says-nearly-988000-have-enrolled-new-marketplace-coverage Approximately 988,000 consumers who currently do not have health insurance coverage through the individual marketplace have signed up for a 2025 health plan through the federally facilitated Health Insurance Marketplace, the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services <a href="https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/nearly-988000-new-consumers-selected-affordable-health-coverage-aca-marketplace-so-far" title="CMS new consumers">announced</a> yesterday. Nearly 4.4 million returning consumers have selected 2025 plans. The open enrollment period began Nov. 1 and continues through Jan. 15.&nbsp; Thu, 05 Dec 2024 13:20:15 -0600 Affordable Care Act CMS: Over 496,000 have signed up for new Marketplace coverage /news/headline/2024-11-25-cms-over-496000-have-signed-new-marketplace-coverage More than 496,900 consumers who currently do not have health insurance coverage have signed up for a 2025 health plan through the federally facilitated Health Insurance Marketplace, the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services <a href="https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/over-496000-new-consumers-selected-affordable-health-coverage-aca-marketplace" title="ACA enrollment 2025">reported</a> &nbsp;last week. They join over 2.5 million returning consumers who selected plans for 2025 during the open enrollment period. Open enrollment began Nov. 1 and continues through Jan. 15. Last year, 21.4 million people signed up for coverage.&nbsp; Mon, 25 Nov 2024 13:38:28 -0600 Affordable Care Act AHA Comments to CMS on Financial Assistance Program Navigators /lettercomment/2024-11-11-aha-comments-cms-financial-assistance-program-navigators November 11, 2024The Honorable Chiquita Brooks-LaSure Administrator Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services Hubert H. Humphrey Building 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 445-G Washington, DC 20201RE: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2026; and Basic Health Program (CMS-9888-P)Dear Administrator Brooks-LaSure:On behalf of the �� Association’s (AHA) nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, including approximately 90 that offer health plans, and our clinician partners — including more than 270,000 affiliated physicians, 2 million nurses and other caregivers — and the 43,000 health care leaders who belong to our professional membership groups, we thank you for the opportunity to respond to the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services’ (CMS) request for comment on how navigators and non-navigator assistance personnel working within hospitals and health systems may help consumers access financial assistance programs to help pay for health care services.The AHA supports having navigators and other assisters work with their hospitals and health systems to help connect consumers to available financial assistance resources.&nbsp;America’s hospitals and health systems provide care to their community 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They are committed to providing quality and safe care to all individuals&nbsp;and delivering a care experience that meets patients’ needs and expectations from appointment scheduling through payment for care provided. Hospitals and health systems welcome the opportunity to partner with assisters, who are already key resources for consumers navigating the complex health care system, to ensure all patients understand and are accessing available financial assistance.While health insurance is intended to be the primary mechanism to protect patients from unexpected and unaffordable health care costs, coverage is falling short for too many. Inadequate health care coverage, including through plans with high out-of-pocket costs that intentionally push more costs onto patients, leaves many Americans financially vulnerable when seeking medical care. As a result, a growing number of patients, even those insured, find they cannot pay for some or all their health care costs.Hospitals and health systems’ financial assistance policies help patients who cannot afford care by providing discounts based on the patient’s income or other factors, such as the amount of the patient’s bill. Through our <a href="/patient-billing-guidelines-affirmation" target="_blank">voluntary patient billing guidelines</a>, the AHA encourages our members to provide free care for patients with income below 200% of the federal poverty limit. To the extent they can, many hospitals have chosen to implement even more generous policies.Many hospitals <a href="https://unduemedicaldebt.org/navigating-the-maze-of-health-care-finances-a-revenue-cycle-perspective/">report</a>, however, that patients are hesitant to pursue financial assistance either because they believe they will not qualify or are apprehensive about providing the information required to complete the application. Other hospitals report difficulties connecting with patients who may be eligible for financial assistance following care, requiring them to reach out several times, often without success. This results in eligible patients not receiving financial assistance and adds an&nbsp;administrative burden to an already strained health care workforce.Moreover, financial assistance programs were originally designed to support uninsured patients, not insured patients who need help closing coverage gaps. Financial assistance is not an adequate response to health plans that feature unaffordable cost-sharing requirements under the guise of being “consumer-driven.”Hospitals and health systems welcome help from navigators and other assisters to educate patients about and access the financial resources available to them. Navigators are already trusted community resources for navigating health insurance coverage and would be a great asset in helping to reach patients who are otherwise not accessing available financial assistance. We also encourage navigators and assisters to expand their enrollment counseling to help patients enroll in plans with affordable deductible and cost-sharing requirements based on the patient’s financial resources.&nbsp;We appreciate CMS exploring how to expand the responsibilities of navigators and non-navigator assistance personnel to include helping patients access available financial assistance. Please contact me if you have questions, or feel free to have a member of your team contact Ariel Levin, AHA’s director of coverage policy, at 202-626-2335 or <a href="mailto:alevin@aha.org">alevin@aha.org</a>.Sincerely,/s/Ashley Thompson Senior Vice President Public Policy Mon, 11 Nov 2024 14:36:49 -0600 Affordable Care Act Court narrows district court injunction of ACA preventative services requirement /news/headline/2024-06-21-court-narrows-district-court-injunction-aca-preventative-services-requirement The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit June 21 partially <a href="https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/23/23-10326-CV0.pdf">affirmed</a> the district court judgment that the Preventative Services Task Force charged with determining coverage of certain preventative services was unconstitutional, as well as the grant of injunctive relief for the plaintiffs in the case. However, the 5th Circuit significantly limited the scope of the relief granted by the district court, reversing the universal remedies entered, and remanded the case to the district court to address certain questions raised for the first time on appeal. &nbsp; The AHA and others previously <a href="/amicus-brief/2023-05-04-aha-others-amicus-brief-braidwood-management-inc-v-xavier-becerra">urged</a> the 5th Circuit to protect the ACA’s mandatory coverage of these preventative services. &nbsp; Fri, 21 Jun 2024 16:02:18 -0500 Affordable Care Act HHS: 45M enrolled in coverage through ACA Marketplace, Medicaid expansion /news/headline/2024-03-22-hhs-45m-enrolled-coverage-through-aca-marketplace-medicaid-expansion Over 21.4 million Americans selected or were automatically re-enrolled in 2024 Marketplace coverage, the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services <a href="https://www.cms.gov/files/document/health-insurance-exchanges-2024-open-enrollment-report-final.pdf" target="_blank">reported</a> March 22, up slightly from the 21.3 million reported in <a href="/news/headline/2024-01-24-2024-marketplace-enrollment-surpasses-21-million" target="_blank">January</a>. The total includes 5.2 million first-time enrollees. People receiving advance premium tax credits saved an average 48% on monthly premiums, with nearly 9.4 million selecting a plan for $10 or less per month. &nbsp; According to a new Department of Health and Human Services <a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/aca-related-enrollment-february-2024" target="_blank">report</a>, 45 million people are currently enrolled in Marketplace or Medicaid expansion coverage under the Affordable Care Act, the highest total on record. HHS also released an update on enrollment <a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/10-years-health-insurance-marketplaces" target="_blank">trends</a> since the launch of the ACA Health Insurance Marketplaces in 2014, including a report on enrollment by <a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/reports/marketplace-enrollment-race-ethnicity-2015-2023" target="_blank">race and ethnicity</a>. Fri, 22 Mar 2024 15:38:22 -0500 Affordable Care Act AHA Supports CMS' Health Insurance Marketplace Proposed Rules /lettercomment/2024-01-08-aha-supports-cms-health-insurance-marketplace-proposed-rules The Honorable Chiquita Brooks-LaSure&nbsp; Administrator&nbsp; Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services Hubert H. Humphrey Building&nbsp; 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 445-G&nbsp; Washington, DC 20201RE: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2025; Updating Section 1332 Waiver Public Notice Procedures; Medicaid; Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) Program; and Basic Health Program (CMS-9895-P)Dear Administrator Brooks-LaSure:On behalf of the �� Association’s (AHA) nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, including approximately 90 that offer health plans, and our clinician partners — including more than 270,000 affiliated physicians, 2 million nurses and other caregivers — and the 43,000 health care leaders who belong to our professional membership groups, we thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed updates to the rules governing the health insurance marketplaces.The AHA supports CMS’ efforts to strengthen network adequacy standards, standardize and streamline marketplace operations, ease the enrollment process and improve access to certain health care services. Most importantly, the proposed policies would require state-based marketplaces to establish time and distance network adequacy standards for qualified health plans that are at least as stringent as those for the federally facilitated marketplace. While we are aware that there may be better approaches to measuring access to care, and we support the development of alternative metrics, we believe that as of today time and distance standards remain an important incentive for plans to contract with an adequate and comprehensive network of providers.CMS also proposes small modifications to its standardized and non-standardized plan approach, including allowing greater access to plans that are specifically designed to facilitate the treatment of chronic and high-cost conditions. In addition, CMS proposes several policies to increase access to services such as dental care and prescription drugs, as well as policies to expand and simplify opportunities to enroll in comprehensive coverage. Taken together, these proposals would continue to improve the value of the coverage available on the marketplaces and ease enrollment in such coverage. This is particularly important right now as states undertake the Medicaid eligibility renewal process and millions of individuals may require new forms of coverage. We look forward to continuing to partner with you to ensure everyone is enrolled in some form of comprehensive coverage and to streamline transitions between different coverage options.In addition to improving access to health insurance coverage, the AHA is committed to ensuring that health insurance coverage is comprehensive, affordable and works well for consumers. While outside of the scope of this regulation, we continue to urge CMS to address two critical issues: substandard coverage and unaffordable and confusing cost-sharing structures.Hospitals and health systems remain concerned about the proliferation of substandard coverage options, such as short-term, limited duration health plans and health sharing ministries. These “plans” provide inadequate access to care and can subject consumers to greater out-of-pocket spending when illness or injury occur. Hospitals and health systems report that patients enrolled in these products often find themselves without coverage for emergency services, cancer care and hospital stays, among other services. It is <a href="https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2021/11/08/misleading-marketing-of-non-aca-health-plans-continued-during-covid-19-special-enrollment-period/" target="_blank" title="Special Enrollment period">documented</a> that the sponsors of these products often mislead individuals into purchasing these plans, which typically lack basic consumer protections and, as a result, subject consumers to high, unexpected out-of-pocket costs and uncertainty about their coverage. Recent <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/liberty-healthshare-healthcare-sharing-ministries-obamacare" target="_blank" title="Obama Care">reporting</a> also highlighted how the lack of regulation of these plans allowed companies to take advantage of patients. For example, one company was found to regularly not pay medical bills intentionally so that their members end up in collections, ultimately ruining the members’ financial health while enabling the company to settle claims for pennies on the dollar. The AHA urges CMS to limit the availability of these plans, including by finalizing the short-term, limited-duration insurance rule, and help educate consumers about their drawbacks.Similarly, we must address out of control cost-sharing. We are concerned with both the amount and the complexity of patient cost-sharing. Increasingly we hear reports of commercial health insurers implementing confusing and convoluted policies such as midyear coverage changes and complex cost-sharing and network structures that leave patients unsure of whether providers are in-network or how much they may have to pay. This complexity can leave patients uncertain about what is covered and what they may owe, which can create barriers to seeking care. This is why the AHA <a href="/lettercomment/2022-01-27-aha-comments-cms-proposed-notice-benefit-and-payment-parameters-2023" target="_blank">supported</a> the reintroduction of standardized qualified health plan options. We believe the standardize plan options finalized by CMS benefit consumers by making their coverage easier to understand and use, as well as better enable them to compare across plans, while still protecting plans’ opportunity to innovate. However, there is more work to be done.In particular, we urge CMS to consider health plan benefit reforms, beginning with high-deductible health plans. These types of products are often marketed — inaccurately — as more cost-effective options for lower income individuals and families. As a result, many people find themselves with health coverage that they cannot use or that subjects them to unexpected medical bills, creating undo financial and emotional stress. We appreciate that CMS released a lower premium adjustment percentage for the 2025 plan year than the 2024 plan year, leading to slightly lower out-of-pocket cost limits. However, these limits are still likely to leave many individuals vulnerable to financial hardship. We urge the agency to take additional steps to simplify cost-sharing structures and reduce the amounts owed out of pocket.We commend CMS for taking additional steps to improve marketplace coverage and make it easily accessible for patients. Please contact me if you have questions, or feel free to have a member of your team contact Ariel Levin, AHA’s director of coverage policy, at 202-626-2335 or <a href="mailto:alevin@aha.org" target="_blank">alevin@aha.org</a>.Sincerely,/s/Stacey Hughes Executive Vice President &nbsp; Mon, 08 Jan 2024 14:43:12 -0600 Affordable Care Act CMS Issues Proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2025 <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-8"> The Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS) Nov. 16 released its proposed standards for qualified health plans (QHPs) offered through the health insurance marketplaces for 2025. Beginning in plan year 2025, the <a href="https://www.cms.gov/files/document/cms-9895-p-patient-protection-final.pdf" target="_blank">proposed rule</a> would require state-based marketplaces (SBMs) to comply with time and distance network adequacy standards for QHPs that are at least as stringent as those for the federally facilitated marketplace (FFM). CMS proposes several other changes to standardize and streamline marketplace operations, particularly SBM operations, such as changes related to call center standards and SBM eligibility and enrollment platforms. CMS also proposes policies intended to make it easier to enroll in coverage and improve access to services such as dental benefits and prescription drugs. At the same time, CMS released the <a href="https://www.cms.gov/files/document/2025-draft-letter-issuers-11-15-2023.pdf" target="_blank">draft letter to issuers</a>, its proposed <a href="https://www.cms.gov/marketplace/resources/regulations-guidance" target="_blank">2025 actuarial value calculator</a>, and <a href="https://www.cms.gov/files/document/2025-papi-parameters-guidance-2023-11-15.pdf" target="_blank">premium adjustment percentage guidance</a> for the 2025 benefit year. <h2>Major Provisions</h2> <h3>Network Adequacy</h3> CMS proposes requiring SBMs, including SBMs using the federal platform (SBM-FP), to have quantitative time and distance network adequacy standards for QHPs that are at least as stringent as the FFM time and distance network adequacy standards established at §156.230. This means that the time and distance standards for the SBMs would be calculated at the county level and vary by county designation and would apply to at least all provider specialties that included in the FFM standards. SBM issuers unable to meet the standards would be able to submit a justification to the SBM, using a similar process as that established for FFM issuers. CMS also proposes that SBMs collect information from QHPs on telehealth services to inform future network adequacy and provider access standards. At this time, CMS is not proposing that SBMs follow the FFM wait time standards or that they ensure that each QHP provider network meets the FFM standards related to essential community providers, provider directories, consumer transparency provider transitions or out-of-network cost-sharing. <h3>Standardized and Non-standardized Plans</h3> CMS proposes to continue following the standardized plan approach and options finalized in the 2023 and 2024 notices with only minor updates. For example, CMS proposes slight decreases to the maximum out-of-pocket and deductible values for the standardized plan designs to ensure the plans achieve the correct actuarial values. CMS also proposes an exception to the limit on the number of non-standard plans offered to allow for greater access to plans that are specifically designed to facilitate the treatment of chronic and high-cost conditions. For example, under this proposal issuers could offer additional non-standard plans with reduced cost-sharing for benefits related to specific chronic care management, beyond the established non-standard plan limits. <h3>Increasing Access to Additional Services</h3> CMS proposes several policies to increase access to services, including: <ul> <li>Updating previous regulations to allow issuers to include non-pediatric dental services as an essential heath benefit (EHB). This would allow states to add routine adult dental services to their EHB-benchmark plans.</li> <li>Codifying the current policy that allows most prescription drugs that are not covered by a state’s EHB-benchmark plan to still be subject to EHB protections, such as annual and lifetime dollar limits.</li> <li>Implementing a technical change to how additional benefits are defined for the purpose of establishing a state’s EHB package. Under the proposed amendment, some additional benefits would be considered a part of the EHB and would no longer require states to defray some of the costs associated with these benefits.</li> </ul> <h3>Expanding and Simplifying Opportunities to Enroll in Comprehensive Coverage</h3> CMS proposes several policies to expand and simplify opportunities to enroll in comprehensive coverage, in particular by requiring SBMs to adhere to established federal standards. The proposals include: <ul> <li>Granting states more flexibility to adopt income and/or resource disregards for determining Medicaid financial eligibility for certain non-modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) populations.</li> <li>Updating the marketplace re-enrollment hierarchy for both FFMs and SBMs to re-enroll catastrophic coverage enrollees into a QHP.</li> <li>Aligning the effective dates of coverage following special enrollment period enrollment for all marketplaces to avoid gaps in coverage and expand access to the special enrollment period for individuals with projected household incomes at or below 150% of the federal poverty line.</li> <li>Establishing call center standards for all marketplaces, including requiring all call centers to provide consumers access to live representatives during their published hours of operations.</li> <li>Requiring SBM open enrollment periods to be at least as long as the federal open enrollment period, which runs from Nov. 1-Jan. 15 each year.</li> <li>Requiring SBMs to operate a centralized eligibility and enrollment platform that allows for a single, streamlined application process.</li> <li>Ensuring web-brokers and direct enrollment entities operating in SBM state adhere to the established standards for operating in FFM states and ensuring direct enrollment entities promptly and prominently reflect changes to <a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/" target="_blank">healthcare.gov</a> on their websites.</li> </ul> <h3>Premium Adjustment Percentage</h3> In separate guidance, CMS released a premium adjustment percentage for 2025 of 1.45. The premium adjustment percentage drives several calculations, including the annual maximum out-of-pocket limit, affordability exemption determinations and the employer shared responsibility payment. Based on the updated premium adjustment percentage, the annual maximum out-of-pocket limit for 2025 is $9,200 for an individual and $18,400 for a family, which is a 2.6% decrease from 2024. For cost-sharing reduction plans, the annual maximum limit on cost sharing will be $3,050 (individual) and $6,100 (family) for those with household incomes between 100% and 200% of the federal poverty level and $7,350 (individual) and $14,700 (family) for those households with incomes between 200% and 250% of the federal poverty level. <h3>User Fees</h3> CMS proposes to maintain the FFM user fee rate of 2.2% and SBM-FP user fee rate of 1.8%. <h3>Risk Adjustment</h3> CMS proposes several changes to the risk adjustment program, including using 2019, 2020, and 2021 enrollee-level EDGE data for model recalibration, consistent with prior years, and recalibrating cost-sharing reduction adjustments factors for American Indian and Alaska Native enrollees. CMS proposes a risk adjustment user fee for the 2025 benefit year of $0.20 per member per month, which is a decrease from the 2024 use fee if $0.21. <h2>Further Questions</h2> Comments on the proposed rule are due Dec. 31, 2023. For more information, contact Ariel Levin, AHA’s director of coverage policy, at <a href="mailto:alevin@aha.org?subject=RE: Special Bulletin: CMS Issues Proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2025">alevin@aha.org</a>. </div> <div class="col-md-4"> <a href="/system/files/media/file/2023/11/Special-Bulletin-CMS-Issues-Proposed-Notice-of-Benefit-and-Payment-Parameters-for-2025.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to download the Special Bulletin: CMS Issues Proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2025 PDF&gt;"><img alt="Special Bulletin: CMS Issues Proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2025 page 1." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="385912fb-1e82-43d7-9855-a48084f56cbd" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Page-1-Special-Bulletin-CMS-Issues-Proposed-Notice-of-Benefit-and-Payment-Parameters-for-2025.png" width="695" height="900"></a> </div> </div> </div> Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:40:14 -0600 Affordable Care Act NAIC report calls for regulatory oversight of ACA preventive services requirement /news/headline/2023-08-14-naic-report-calls-regulatory-oversight-aca-preventive-services-requirement A new <a href="https://healthyfuturega.org/ghf_resource/preventive-services-coverage-and-cost-sharing-protections-are-inconsistently-and-inequitably-implemented/">report</a>&nbsp;by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Consumer Representatives calls for regulatory oversight to ensure insurers comply with the Affordable Care Act requirement to cover certain preventive services without cost-sharing. The authors reviewed how six individual market plans in different jurisdictions complied with a sample of four services health plans must cover without cost sharing and found that “the ways that insurers organize and expose information to providers and consumers is a meaningful barrier to effective understanding and use of preventive service benefits.” &nbsp; The report recommends that state regulators analyze claims adjudication processes and assess drug formularies to understand whether plans are abiding by coverage and cost-sharing requirements; work with plans to ensure simple and transparent appeals processes for cost-sharing violations; hold plans accountable for educating consumers and providers; and promote uniform billing and coding guidance for use across plans. In light of a recent federal lawsuit <a href="/news/headline/2023-05-15-court-preserves-preventive-services-requirement-pending-appeal">challenging</a>&nbsp;the ACA requirement that most health plans cover certain preventive services without cost sharing, the report also recommends commissioners secure voluntary commitments from plans in their states to ensure continued access to these services without cost sharing, and monitor and enforce transparency and notice provisions for any plan design change. Mon, 14 Aug 2023 13:41:49 -0500 Affordable Care Act South Dakota poised to become 39th state to expand Medicaid under ACA /news/headline/2023-06-30-south-dakota-poised-become-39th-state-expand-medicaid-under-aca Effective July 1, over 52,000 low-income adults in South Dakota will become eligible for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/06/30/south-dakota-expands-medicaid-bringing-health-coverage-more-than-52000-state-residents.html">announced</a>&nbsp;June 30. South Dakotans last year <a href="/news/headline/2022-11-09-south-dakota-votes-expand-medicaid-low-income-adults">voted</a> to expand eligibility, and CMS recently approved the state plan <a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/medicaid-state-plan-amendments/index.html?f%5B0%5D=state%3A846#content#content">amendment</a>. Fri, 30 Jun 2023 15:43:12 -0500 Affordable Care Act AHA urges 5th Circuit to maintain cost-free access to ACA preventive services /news/headline/2023-06-28-aha-urges-5th-circuit-maintain-cost-free-access-aca-preventive-services The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit should reverse a district court decision that prevents the Health and Human Services Secretary from implementing an Affordable Care Act requirement that private health plans cover without cost-sharing U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations for preventive services, AHA told the appeals court in a <a href="/amicus-brief/2023-06-27-amicus-brief-aha-urges-5th-circuit-maintain-cost-free-access-aca-preventive-services" target="_blank">friend-of-the-court brief</a>&nbsp;filed yesterday with the Federation of ��s, Catholic Health Association of the United States, America’s Essential Hospitals, and Association of American Medical Colleges.&nbsp; &nbsp; “Doing so would maintain millions of Americans’ cost-free access to critical preventive services, from cancer screenings to interventions for pregnancy complications,” the brief states. “Additionally, this Court should ensure the Task Force continues to make medical recommendations based on scientific evidence. Countless Americans benefit from receiving preventive services based on the Task Force’s expert, nonpartisan medical judgment. This Court should preserve those benefits. Without these guarantees in place, patients face a substantially greater risk that their acute illnesses or chronic diseases will not be timely detected or treated. At the very least, the Court should sever the statute so that the Task Force is subject to constitutionally required executive branch oversight and leave the preventive-care requirement in place.” Wed, 28 Jun 2023 14:33:54 -0500 Affordable Care Act