June 27, 2025
Please see below for statements from the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law’s health law experts on the Supreme Court’s decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management.
Professor Michele Bratcher Goodwin, Linda D. & Timothy J. O’Neill Professor of Constitutional Law and Global Health Policy; Co-Faculty Director, O’Neill Institute
“Sadly, this case represents yet another challenge to the Affordable Care Act, which has been a lifeline for multitudes of Americans who were shut out from receiving health care based on their income and employment status. This litigation represents a strike against one of its most important provisions — the preventative care mandate. At the heart of this case is the attack on reproductive health services, including pre-exposure prophylaxis drugs to prevent HIV, HPV vaccines, contraceptive services, and screening and behavioral counseling for STIs.
Today is a cautious victory. However, one cannot ignore the reality that active attacks on reproductive health care continue, risking health and harm beyond the ability to terminate a pregnancy and extending to life-saving and preserving vaccines, HIV prevention, and other treatments.”
Professor Lawrence O. Gostin, Founding O’Neill Chair in Global Health Law; Co-Faculty Director, O’Neill Institute
“In today’s Supreme Court decision in Braidwood Management v. Kennedy, the Supreme Court made the right move in preserving the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that private insurers cover evidence-based preventive services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) without cost-sharing. Over 150 million people enrolled in private health insurance can continue to access services like cancer screenings for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer, as well as lung cancer screenings for high-risk individuals, without the threat of potentially high costs.
Yet still, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the helm of HHS, he holds significant sway over the makeup of the USPSTF and the services that it recommends. His criticism surrounding perceived conflicts of interest among scientific advisory committee members and harmful messaging surrounding critical tools like vaccines have raised valid concerns about how he will exercise his authority.
Yet, if Americans are to achieve better health in the days and years ahead, accessing preventive services for conditions like HIV, cancer, and diabetes — without cost, stigma, or discrimination — is indispensable.”
Jeffrey S. Crowley, Director of the Center for HIV and Infectious Disease Policy
“Now it is up to President Trump. Today’s Supreme Court decision — upholding the Trump administration’s defense of the requirement that highly rated preventive services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force be covered free of charge through Medicaid expansion programs and most private health plans — comes on the heels of last week’s FDA approval of a transformative twice-yearly PrEP option. Will President Trump seize this moment to advance efforts to end the HIV epidemic?
That path forward requires the Trump administration to restore critical capacity at the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention, safeguard and expand health coverage through Medicaid and private insurance, and make the bold investments needed to ensure broad, equitable access to the full range of PrEP options. We have never been more poised to leap forward toward ending the HIV epidemic in the United States, and we applaud the Court’s important decision.”
Zachary Baron and Andrew Twinamatsiko, Directors of the Center for Health Policy and the Law
“Today’s Supreme Court decision preserves access to evidence-based preventive services without cost-sharing that millions of patients have relied on for nearly 15 years under the Affordable Care Act. More than 150 million Americans with private health insurance benefit from this provision, and the Supreme Court’s ruling means Americans can continue receiving critical, evidence-based services like cancer screenings and treatments for cardiovascular disease without being afraid of what they will pay out-of-pocket. This is the ninth time that the Supreme Court has ruled on a challenge related to the Affordable Care Act, and today’s decision comes after five years of litigation over the law’s preventive services coverage requirement.
While today’s ruling allows many Americans to breathe a sigh of relief, coverage for this vital care remains at risk. All eyes will turn to the Trump administration to see if Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. directs the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to revisit or issue new recommendations that could erode access to preventive care.”
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