Supreme Court Once Again Preserves the Affordable Care Act

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Mother Jones

38 seconds ago


For 15 years, the Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and today is no different. This morning, the court once again batted away a challenge to the landmark health insurance reform law, protecting the part of the ACA that required insurers to cover certain types of preventive care—like cancer screenings, cholesterol medications, and HIV prevention drugs—at zero cost to patients.

The case, known as Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, focused not on this coverage requirement but instead on a bureaucratic detail: the structure of the US Preventive Services Task Force, a committee of independent experts who decide which types of care fall under this provision and are appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services for 4-year terms. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers must fully cover services the task force rated “A” or “B.”

In a 6-3 ruling, authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court ruled that task force members are properly appointed and are not required to be confirmed by the Senate.

The decision protects dozens of ratings given by the task force since the ACA was passed in 2010, meaning that insurers must continue to make those services free for patients.

Read more: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/06/supreme-court-once-again-preserves-the-affordable-care-act/

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Link to RULING (PDF) - https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24-316_869d.pdf

[SSJVegeta]

2. So far it is actuallly looking like the courts are holding for most things

The few things it isnt holding on however, are very bad.

[LiberalArkie]

8. "are holding for most things" that make corporations money.

[SSJVegeta]

9. There is some oberlap with things that are profitable and also benefit democracy

[LiberalArkie]

13. But if it doesn't benefit the poor 1%ers, it is always a no go. Like, with the ACA. It is still here because

the insurance companies are making a lot of money now from a group they did not think they could get.

[SSJVegeta]

14. Yup

[orangecrush]

10. Astute observation

[sheshe2]

3. Figures

.Alito. Gorsuch.Thomas.

[Traildogbob]

4. So McCain just

Gave Trump a thumbs up for bombing Iran, 👍🏼and the court upholds the McCain Thumbs down to not end Obama care.👎🏼
Trumps chubby lasted a Scaramoochee.

[riversedge]

5. Preventive Care IS Health care!!

[3catwoman3]

11. It is the best kind of health care.

Easier and more economical to prevent than to repair.

[Martin68]

6. Good news.

[Bayard]

7. They lost on a bureaucratic detail?

That's a great thing, but I can see a lot more of that coming down the pike.

[mdbl]

12. Those with the time and money will keep on trying to wear down the system until they get what they want

Citizen's United guaranteed that.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

15. Maddow Blog-For the fourth time, Affordable Care Act survives far-right Supreme Court challenge

Supreme Court justices have now passed on four different opportunities to gut the ACA, but GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill aren’t done trying just yet.

There’s no denying the fact that it was a brutal day at the Supreme Court, but there was one area of relief:

Four times, conservatives have asked the justices to gut the Affordable Care Act. Four times, the ACA has survived. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-06-27T15:33:40.371Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/fourth-time-affordable-care-act-survives-far-right-supreme-court-chall-rcna215546

The first time Republicans asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take a sledgehammer to the Affordable Care Act, they failed. The second time didn’t turn out well for the health care law’s GOP opponents, and the ACA survived the third effort, too.

Would the fourth time be the charm? Apparently not. NBC News reported:

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a challenge to an Affordable Care Act provision that set up a panel to recommend preventive care services that insurers must provide at no cost to patients. The court, split 6-3, ruled in favor of the Trump administration, which was defending the law, saying the task force members are lawfully appointed under the Constitution's appointments clause.

For those who might benefit from a refresher about this case, let’s revisit our earlier coverage and review how we arrived at this point.....

Last year, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, generally seen as the nation’s most conservative appellate bench, predictably agreed with O’Connor and rejected the ACA’s health task force and its authority to require insurers to cover an array of preventive health interventions and screenings.

In Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, Inc., the Supreme Court justices, including two of Donald Trump’s three appointees, didn’t buy it. NBC News' report added:

The task force members are under the supervision of the health and human services secretary, a position held by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which addresses any concerns that it is not accountable to the executive branch, the court found in an opinion written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

This comes against a backdrop of other good news for the Affordable Care Act: The reform law’s enrollment totals have reached all-time highs, and public opinion research has found that the ACA has never been more popular.

That said, congressional Republicans have included several anti-ACA provisions in the party’s domestic policy megabill, creating the most serious threat to the system since Trump and Republicans nearly repealed “Obamacare” eight years ago.

Or put another way, Supreme Court justices have now passed on four different opportunities to gut the ACA, but GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill aren’t done trying just yet.