Richard H. Hughes, IV, Member of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, co-authored an article in Health Affairs, titled “Braidwood’s Double-Edged Sword and the Dismantling of Preventive Care.”
Following is an excerpt:
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management is a victory for access to preventive care in that it held the line against detractors who have sought to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA) guarantee of no-cost coverage of preventive care services, like cancer screenings and HIV prophylaxis. However, the Court’s framing of the relationship between the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and advisory bodies recommending preventive care is cause for concern.
Our health system relies on these expert advisory panels, namely the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), to translate evidence into policy recommendations. But recent events suggest that these bodies are increasingly vulnerable to political influence. …
