Special Edition: Fifth Circuit’s Decision in Braidwood v. Becerra: A “Mixed Bag” – Health Care in Motion

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued its much-anticipated decision in
Braidwood v. Becerra, a case challenging the constitutionality of the ACA preventive care mandate. The mandate, discussed in more detail in a recent Health Care in Motion, guarantees most people with private insurance access to coverage without copayments or cost-sharing of four sets of preventive services: wide-ranging preventive care services for everyone rated “A” or “B” by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF); vaccines recommended by the federal Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) and adopted by the CDC; women’s preventive health services recommended by the federal Health Resources
and Services Administration (HRSA); and preventive services recommended by HRSA for children and youth.

The Fifth Circuit’s decision preserves access to most of these services for most people for now—but could lead to dramatic reductions in access to care down the road. Read on for a brief digest of the decision and its short and long-term implications.

Read our latest Health Care in Motion.