The United States Supreme Court has taken the somewhat unusual step of requesting additional briefing on specific legal questions following the recent oral arguments regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly known as Obamacare. This request pertains specifically to the legality of the preventative services mandate, which obliges insurers to provide coverage for certain treatments at no cost to the insured.
According to a report by Bloomberg Law, the justices are seeking clarity on whether Congress has conferred authority “by Law” upon the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to appoint members to the United States Preventive Services Task Force. This question was prompted during the April 21 arguments, which scrutinized the constitutional legitimacy of the task force responsible for recommending services under the ACA.
This case carries potentially significant implications for the healthcare industry, as the mandate at the center of this legal dispute plays a crucial role in determining the breadth of services that must be covered by insurers without cost-sharing. The additional briefing ordered by the Supreme Court suggests the justices are not yet convinced they have all the necessary information to issue a definitive ruling and desire more detailed legal arguments on these salient points.