Richard H. Hughes, IV, Member of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, was quoted in Law360, in “5 Cases Benefits Attorneys Should Keep an Eye On in 2025,” by Kellie Mejdrich. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
Justices May Take Up Preventive Care Battle
On Sept. 19, the federal government petitioned for high court review of a Fifth Circuit decision that found a task force setting coverage requirements on preventive care was unconstitutional. Businesses and individuals challenging the preventive care requirements filed their own cross-petition seeking review. …
Richard Hughes IV, a healthcare attorney and partner at Epstein Becker Green, said attorneys should pay attention to the case because a decision in the case "could have, really, a very significant impact on one of the most substantive benefits requirements that exist in a law."
Hughes refers to preventive services requirements under the Affordable Care Act, which added Section 2713 to the Public Health Services Act. The Fifth Circuit's decision being appealed by the federal government struck down a national injunction that would have lifted coverage requirements on a range of preventive treatments, but kept an injunction in place preventing the law's application to the individuals and businesses in Texas who sued. …
The government's petition focuses on the constitutionality of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which is essentially in charge of determining many of the preventive services that need to be covered cost-free under the ACA. Its guidance has required cost-free coverage for preventive care ranging from breast cancer screenings to preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, a medication used to prevent HIV.
