The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled in favor of Christian-owned businesses and individuals who sued over the Affordable Care Act (ACA) preventive care mandates. The appellate Court agreed with the district court that the federal task force that recommended mandated preventive care services was unconstitutional.
However, the Fifth Circuit lifted the district court's nationwide injunction against the government from enforcing the ACA's preventive care mandate. The Court found that the nationwide injunction was unnecessary and that the district court judge abused his discretion in issuing injunctive relief to anyone other than the plaintiffs. The case is Braidwood Mgmt. v. Becerra, No. 23-10326 (5th Cir. 2024).
The plaintiffs filed suit in objection to a 2019 recommendation by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that the ACA fully cover drugs that prevent HIV transmission as a mandated preventive service. They alleged that the Task Force, a 16-member body of experts created by the ACA, is unconstitutional because they were not properly appointed under Article II of the Constitution. As a result, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services cannot require certain preventive services to be covered by the ACA. Likewise, the plaintiffs argued that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the Health Resources and Services Administration, which are administrative bodies that also provide recommendations on preventive services, are unconstitutional for the same reason.
While the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling that the Task Force was unconstitutional, it remanded the issues of whether the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the Health Resources and Services Administration were similarly unconstitutional to the district court. Due to the importance of these constitutional issues, the Fifth Circuit declined to consider them without further consideration of arguments by the district court below and additional briefing.
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