Washington, D.C. - Feb. 25, 2025 – ; Today, 33 organizations representing millions of patients with serious health conditions and thousands of health care professionals filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case Braidwood Management v. Kennedy. The amicus brief supports the constitutionality of the provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires most private insurers cover preventive services recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) without cost-sharing by patients. The brief provides extensive scientific data demonstrating that preventive services save lives and are cost-effective.
Research has proven that any cost sharing can be a deterrent to accessing critical prevention and early detection and ultimately puts lives at risk. According to a recent American Cancer Society study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, millions of privately insured people will lose access to breast, colorectal, and lung cancer screenings without cost sharing if the preventive services provision of the ACA is declared unconstitutional.
Below is an excerpt from the brief:
“All Americans use or will use health care services, and the lifetime risk that an individual American will contract a serious or chronic disease or condition is high. Preventive services aid in prevention, early detection and treatment of many conditions, increasing patients’ chances of recovery and extending life expectancies. Preventive care also helps control costs of treating these conditions.
“The ACA preventive services provision requiring most private insurers and Medicaid expansion plans cover Task Force-recommended services without cost sharing increases patients’ ability to receive care that can prevent disease outright, identify conditions early, and reduce the physical and financial burdens of treating severe illnesses. Detecting severe diseases early allows for less invasive, more effective, and lower-cost treatment options, and substantially improves patient outcomes. The ACA’s preventive care requirements have enabled millions of Americans to obtain preventive care and improving utilization of these vital services nationwide for more than ten years. Reducing insurance coverage for preventive services will lead to worsening patient outcomes, resulting in preventable deaths, and creating higher long-term medical costs.
“The court of appeals decision threatens to drastically reduce insurance coverage for Task Force-recommended services, deter utilization of those services, worsen patient outcomes, and potentially increase costs. If fully implemented, it will substantially harm the patients that amici treat, serve, and support.”
List of organizations:
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Ophthalmology
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American College of Chest Physicians
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
American College of Osteopathic Internists
American College of Physicians
American Kidney Fund
American Medical Association
American Medical Women's Association
American Osteopathic Association
American Psychiatric Association
American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
American Society of Clinical Oncology
American Thoracic Society
Arthritis Foundation
Cancer Support Community
Crohn's & Colitis Foundation
Epilepsy Foundation of America
GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality
Hemophilia Federation of America
Infectious Diseases Society of America
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
LUNGevity Foundation
National Hispanic Medical Association
National Minority Quality Forum
National MS Society
National Patient Advocate Foundation
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Texas Medical Association
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