Ranking Member Scott Condemns Right-Wing Judge’s Ruling to Restrict Access to Preventive Health Care
WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after a District Court judge ruled to weaken a provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires private health insurance plans to cover preventive care services, including cancer screenings, PrEP for HIV prevention, and behavioral health screenings, at no cost.
“Access to preventive care saves lives. By detecting health problems early on, preventive care helps us address serious diseases—such as colon cancer and high cholesterol—before they become complicated and more expensive to treat. For more than a decade, people across the country have been able to count on the ACA to access these services without having to pay anything out of pocket.
“Now, a conservative judge—the same judge who struck down the entire ACA before it was upheld by the Supreme Court—has jeopardized this critical protection under the ACA for millions of Americans who otherwise may not be able to afford preventive services. We cannot go back to a time when far too many Americans were forced to choose between financial stability and the care they need to avert life-threatening diseases. If we want to continue to save lives, reduce racial and ethnic health inequities, and reduce our nation’s health care costs, we must preserve Americans’ access to no-cost preventive care under the ACA.”
In September 2022, Committee Democrats released a report examining how the preventive services requirement under the ACA has helped provide access to preventive care for the millions of people with health coverage through the ACA, as well as a vast majority of the people with coverage through their employment.
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