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1 1 (April 11, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/pvessacss0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ______ a Res'earch Service a Preventive Services Access Heads to the Supreme Court: Kennedy v. Braidwood April 11, 2025 On April 21, 2025, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument in Kennedy v. Braidwood, a constitutional challenge to a federal requirement on private health plans to cover clinical preventive services for millions of privately insured individuals. Established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148), this requirement generally compels most private-sector health plans and insurers to cover certain preventive services without cost-sharing (i.e., out-of-pocket costs) to their enrollees. Covered preventive services include certain services (such as various cancer screenings) recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force), a body comprising a volunteer group of 16 national experts in preventive medicine and primary care. In Braidwood, the Supreme Court will consider whether the coverage requirements based on Task Force recommendations violate the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. This Sidebar provides an overview of the relevant background and the parties' arguments before the Supreme Court, and it highlights certain considerations for Congress. Background The Task Force and ACA's Preventive Services Coverage Requirement First convened by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 1984, the Task Force is a volunteer group of national experts in fields such as internal medicine, pediatrics, geriatrics, behavioral health, obstetrics/gynecology, and nursing. In 1999, Congress enacted the Task Force's governing statute at Public Health Service Act (PHSA) Section 915, which authorized the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), an agency within HHS, to periodically convene the Task Force to review the scientific evidence related to the effectiveness, appropriateness, and cost- effectiveness of clinical preventive services to develop and update recommendations for the health care community. The provision further directed AHRQ to provide ongoing administrative, research, and technical support to the Task Force, whose recommendations are generally reflected in one of five letter grades (A, B, C, D, or I). Services rated A or B are those recommended by the Task Force to be offered or provided on a routine basis to patients meeting certain criteria. PHSA Section 901 generally Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB11284 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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