Insurance Companies and Policymakers Need to Step in and Protect Coverage 


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

May 15, 2023

Contact: Jack Cardinal, (781) 960-5208, jcardinal@communitycatalyst.org 

BOSTON, MA — Today a stay was issued in a ruling that could affect 150 million people. The stay pauses a ruling from a U.S. District Court judge that struck down a major provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) providing no-cost preventive care for a range of services. This includes, but is not limited to, cancer screenings, HIV screening & prevention care, mental health screenings, perinatal preventive care & screenings, tobacco cessation services, and even some preventive dental services for children. It is the latest in a series of attacks opponents of the ACA, long defeated in Congress, have waged through the court system. 

Statement from Emily Stewart, executive director of Community Catalyst: 

“A stay in this case is good and will help protect the health care of 150 million people, at least temporarily. But the truth is that the relentless attacks on the ACA by Republican leadership and activist judges will continue. 

“With the end of the Public Health Emergency and with great economic uncertainty, now is the exact wrong moment to be rolling back critical, life-saving care. Instead, we should be expanding access to affordable coverage and care. 

“In light of these relentless attacks, all health insurance companies should commit to continuing to cover these vital services at no cost and with no exceptions – regardless of the ultimate outcome of this case. Policymakers – at both the state and national level – need to pass policies to not only protect the provisions of the ACA but expand affordable coverage and care to even more people. 

“At Community Catalyst, we are working alongside our state and community partners to put people at the center of these decisions by protecting access to the full range of preventive care at no-cost. These legal rulings don’t exist in a vacuum. The legal attacks on the ACA have real world and devastating impacts for millions of people. 

“We know this stay is only a temporary victory and Community Catalyst will continue to fight to ensure those who will be most impacted by the original ruling – Black, Latinx, LGBTQ+ and other systemically-excluded communities who already face discriminatory barriers to affordable health coverage and care – continue to get the health care they need and deserve.”

Learn more about the case, Braidwood Management, INC. v Becerra, and its impacts on communities here.

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About Community Catalyst: 

Community Catalyst is a leading non-profit national health advocacy organization dedicated to advancing a movement for race equity and health justice. We partner with local, state and national advocates to leverage and build power so all people can influence decisions that affect their health. Health systems will not be accountable to people without a fully engaged and organized community voice. That’s why we work every day to ensure people’s interests are represented wherever important decisions about health and health care are made: in communities, state houses and on Capitol Hill.For more information, visit http://www.communitycatalyst.org. Follow us on Twitter @CommCatHealth.