33 Patient and Medical Professional Organizations File Amicus Brief Urging the US Supreme Court to Protect Lifesaving Preventive Care Without Patient Cost-Sharing

WASHINGTON, D.C.— February 25, 2025 — Today, 33 organizations representing millions of patients with serious health conditions and thousands of health care professionals filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case Braidwood Management v. Kennedy. The amicus brief supports 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 will lose access to breast, colorectal, and lung cancer screenings without cost-sharing if the preventive services provision of the ACA is 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.

“The court of appeals decision threatens to drastically reduce insurance coverage for Task Force-recommended services, deter utilization of those services, worsen patient outcomes, and potentially increase costs. If fully implemented, it will substantially harm the patients that amici treat, serve, and support.”

List of organizations:

American Academy of Family Physicians

American Academy of Ophthalmology

American Academy of Pediatrics 

American Cancer Society

American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

American College of Chest Physicians

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

American College of Osteopathic Internists 

American College of Physicians

American Kidney Fund

American Medical Association

American Medical Women's Association

American Osteopathic Association

American Psychiatric Association

American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

American Society of Clinical Oncology 

American Thoracic Society

Arthritis Foundation

Cancer Support Community

Crohn's & Colitis Foundation

Epilepsy Foundation of America

GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality

Hemophilia Federation of America

Infectious Diseases Society of America 

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

LUNGevity Foundation

National Hispanic Medical Association

National Minority Quality Forum

National MS Society

National Patient Advocate Foundation

Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine

Texas Medical Association

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