AJLM Symposium Synopsis – Evolving Issues and Potential Consequences of Braidwood v. Becerra

Over a busy and thought-provoking day, the American Journal of Law and Medicine (AJLM) symposium on  Preventive Care Law & Policy: Evolving Issues and Potential Consequences of Braidwood Management, Inc. v. Becerra helped break down the potential impact the decision in this case could have on the American health care system.

With many recommended preventive care services at risk of losing guaranteed coverage without cost-sharing if the lower court decision is upheld, the symposium looked at the case through the lenses of public policy, constitutional and administrative law, health equity, and public health. For more details and updates on Braidwood, see our recent Health Care in Motion  and CHLPI’s FAQ for health care advocates, providers, and consumers.

At the symposium, CHLPI’s Elizabeth Kaplan and Anu Dairkee discussed the link between free preventive care and improving health equity. Kaplan focused part of her talk on acknowledging  that the preventive care mandate is not a silver bullet that will solve the myriad of health equity issues that face the U.S. health care system. Instead, it is a basic requirement, without which our health care system cannot fully address health equity.

Kaplan and Dairkee have co-authored a paper that will be published in the AJLM Summer 2024 journal edition and will highlight the health care inequities that will be magnified if Braidwood is upheld, particularly in the oncology and HIV spaces.