Maintaining access to evidence-based preventive services without patient cost sharing is critical
Washington, D.C.— Today, after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in the case of Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, 33 organizations representing millions of patients with serious health conditions and thousands of medical professionals are applauding the protection of access to lifesaving preventive care without patient cost sharing. The organizations are also emphasizing the importance of maintaining cost-free access to these evidence-based services.
In February, the group filed an amicus brief supporting the constitutionality of the provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires most private insurers cover preventive services recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (Task Force) without cost sharing by patients. The brief provides extensive scientific data demonstrating that preventive services save lives and are cost-effective.
Research has proven that any cost sharing can be a deterrent to accessing critical prevention and early detection and ultimately puts lives at risk. According to a recent American Cancer Society study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, millions of privately insured people would have lost access to breast, colorectal and lung cancer screenings without cost sharing if the preventive services provision of the ACA had been declared unconstitutional.
Below is an excerpt from the brief:
“All Americans use or will use health care services, and the lifetime risk that an individual American will contract a serious or chronic disease or condition is high. Preventive services aid in prevention, early detection and treatment of many conditions, increasing patients’ chances of recovery and extending life expectancies. Preventive care also helps control costs of treating these conditions.
“… The ACA preventive services provision requiring private insurers cover Task Force-recommended services without cost-sharing increases patients’ ability to receive care that can prevent disease outright, identify conditions early and reduce the physical and financial burdens of treating severe illnesses. Detecting severe diseases early allows for less invasive, more effective, and lower-cost treatment options and substantially improves patient outcomes. The ACA’s preventive-care requirements have enabled millions of Americans to obtain preventive care and improved utilization of these vital services nationwide for more than ten years. Reducing insurance coverage for preventive services will lead to worsening patient outcomes, resulting in preventable deaths and creating higher long-term medical costs.”
List of organizations:
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AOA media contact
Ernst Lamothe
(312) 202-8038
[email protected]
About the American Osteopathic Association
The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) represents more than 197,000 osteopathic physicians (DOs) and osteopathic medical students; promotes public health; encourages scientific research; and serves as the primary certifying body for DOs. To learn more about DOs and the osteopathic philosophy of medicine, visit www.osteopathic.org.