FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 27, 2025 
Contact: Jack Cardinal, jcardinal@communitycatalyst.org

“No-cost preventive care is one of the most popular and effective parts of the Affordable Care Act… Undermining it through political interference is not just dangerous, it is deeply out of step with what communities want and need.” 

Washington, D.C. — The Supreme Court’s decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood keeps the Affordable Care Act’s guarantee of no-cost preventive care intact – for now. But while the Court upheld the authority of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the real threat looms in the form of political interference undermining what preventive care gets covered without copays or deductibles. As we’ve seen with Secretary Kennedy’s recent meddling of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), when ideology replaces evidence, people’s health and financial security are at risk. 

Mona Shah, Senior Director of Policy and Strategy at Community Catalyst, issued the following statement: 

“While the Court upheld the existing coverage mandate for no-cost preventive care, the integrity of that protection depends on keeping USPSTF free from political manipulation. If preventive care recommendations are no longer grounded in science, insurers will have the green light to shift costs back onto patients, forcing people to pay for cost-saving, preventive care that should be universally accessible. 

“We know the reality: even modest co-pays can stop someone from getting a cancer screening or HIV test. That is not just bad policy, it is a direct path to delayed diagnoses, worse health outcomes, and crushing medical debt, especially in communities that already face deep inequities. 

“No-cost preventive care is one of the most popular and effective parts of the Affordable Care Act. People count on it to stay healthy. Undermining it through political interference is not just dangerous, it is deeply out of step with what communities want and need. 

“Community Catalyst remains committed to protecting access to preventive care that is guided by evidence, not ideology, and ensuring everyone, no matter their income or background, can get the care they need without cost standing in the way.”  

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is an independent panel of experts in prevention and evidence-based medicine that makes recommendations about clinical preventive services — such as screenings, counseling services, and preventive medications — to improve the health of people nationwide. Their guidelines help determine which preventive services are covered without out-of-pocket costs under the Affordable Care Act. 

Imagine this: You are high-risk for post-partum depression but cannot receive counseling. Or you need a cancer screening, but new out-of-pocket costs put it out of reach. These are the real risks and scenarios millions could face if these protections are gutted by a politicized USPSTF. Even seemingly small new charges will force millions of families — especially those already struggling — to make impossible choices: delay or forgo care or seek care and go into debt.

Politicizing advisory committees that have long operated outside of any political ideology is part of a broader strategy to maintain a status quo that drives worse health outcomes and higher costs — particularly for women, people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ+ communities, and low-income families. It’s an oppressive pattern: by making basic care harder to access, these actions deepen inequities and harm those already facing the greatest barriers. We must call this out and fight for a health system where gender, race, or income does not determine health outcomes.

Have more questions about the case? Visit our resource page.

Want to share your story? Visit our Soapboxx page and record your message.

# # # 

About Community Catalyst:

Community Catalyst is a national organization dedicated to building the power of people to create a health system rooted in race equity and health justice, and a society where health is a right for all. We’re an experienced, trusted partner to organizations across the country, a change agent to policymakers at the local, state, and national level, and both an adversary and a collaborator to health systems in our efforts to advance health justice. We partner with local, state and national organizations and leaders to leverage and build power so that people are at the center of important decisions about health and health care, whether they are made by health care executives, in state houses, or on Capitol Hill. Together with partners, we’re building a powerful, united movement with a shared vision of and strategy for a health system accountable to all people. Learn more at www.communitycatalyst.org.