U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Affordable Care Act Preventive Care Advisory Panel

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a 6–3 decision upholding the constitutionality of an advisory panel that chooses the benefits to be included in the Affordable Care Act’s preventive benefits package. In the majority opinion authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the court held that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has sufficient authority over the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) to avoid a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s appointment clause. The majority opinion characterizes the task force members as “inferior officers” properly appointed by the authority that Congress has given the HHS Secretary.

Chief Justice John Roberts, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson join in the maj