After Supreme Court Ruling, HHS Secretary Kennedy May Play Major Role in Preventive Services Coverage

Jul 03
Jul 03, 2025

AHIP and the American Medical Association, trade groups that are typically at odds over health care issues, each applauded the Supreme Court’s ruling on June 27 that upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s preventive care coverage mandate. While two ACA experts tell AIS Health, a division of MMIT, that insurers, providers and millions of people will benefit from the ruling, they note that the judgment also provided power to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic who they say may influence some of the medications and treatments that are classified as preventive. They add that this case concerned only U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations and that the plaintiffs have filed similar lawsuits regarding recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Laurie Sobel, an attorney and the associate director for women’s health policy at KFF, tells AIS Health that the Supreme Court agreed with the federal government in the Kennedy v. Braidwood case and ruled that the structure of the USPSTF does not violate the Constitution’s appointments clause. The Court wrote that the HHS secretary “has power to appoint” the USPSTF’s 16 members and also “may remove Task Force members at will, enabling him to supervise and direct them.”
Read more
© 2025 MMIT

Tim Casey

Tim has been a reporter and editor for newspapers, websites and magazines for more than 20 years, including 10 years covering health care business topics. He has a deep knowledge of the managed care industry and pharmacy benefit management. He also has experience covering medical conferences and clinical and legislative health care issues. In 2014, the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing selected Tim as one of 15 journalists to participate in a national symposium on the Affordable Care Act. Tim has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Notre Dame and an M.B.A. from Georgetown University.