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 The Hill, in “Supreme Court Schedules Arguments in Case Where Trump Administration Is Defending ACA,” by Nathaniel Weixel.
Following is an excerpt:
The Supreme Court on Monday scheduled arguments for April 21 in a case that could decide the legality of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) requirement that insurers cover certain preventive services.
In a surprising move, the Trump administration said it will continue the Biden White House’s defense of that requirement.
But some legal experts said the arguments being presented by the Justice Department indicate a desire to give Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. substantial control over an independent government task force.
“Probably what has contributed to the administration’s comfort level is their ability to assert this position, that they do have political oversight over the task force,” said Richard Hughes IV, an attorney with Epstein Becker Green.
The Justice Department in a brief last week argued that an independent government panel — the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) — is legally allowed make coverage recommendations because the HHS secretary has the ultimate say over both the recommendations and the individual members of the panel.
