US Judge Strikes Down Key ObamaCare Provision

A provision of the Affordable Care Act that directs insurance providers to cover specific preventative services such as cancer screenings has been invalidated by a United States District Judge on March 30, 2021.

The Judge, Reed O’Connor, ruled that the task force’s recommendations on preventative care were illegal and prevented the administration of President Biden from enforcing these recommendations. The task force, the US Preventive Services Task Force, recommended insurers to cover certain preventative services under the Affordable Care Act (also called ObamaCare), such as anxiety screenings for some children and breast cancer screenings for some women.

Plaintiffs involved in a legal case in Texas argued that the mandated coverage interfered with their constitutional rights and religious freedoms. They were forced to purchase insurance plans which included aspects that violated their religion, such as the coverage of prophylaxis drugs for those with high risks of contracting HIV.

O’Connor then wrote, “The ACA forces these plaintiffs to choose between purchasing health insurance that violates their religious beliefs and foregoing conventional health insurance altogether. It is undisputed that putting individuals to this choice imposes a substantial burden on religious exercise.”

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act allows the government to significantly burden an individual’s religious exercise when it is essential to further a compelling government interest and when this course is the least restrictive means of achieving this object.

The plaintiffs contended that mandating people to purchase insurance plans that cover PrEP drugs violated their religious beliefs. While officials claimed that there is a compelling interest to prevent diseases such as HIV, O’Connor argued that the PrEP mandate did not satisfy the exceptionally demanding conditions outlined in the ACA.