Ep. 53 - Could this be the end of ACA preventative care?

Yesterday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments for a case that could end free preventative care in the Affordable Care Act. Listeners of the podcast may remember when Ron and Matthew discussed the first case last year. Judge Reed O’Connor, the federal judge who previously attempted to rule that the ACA was unconstitutional entirely, ruled that Preventative Services Task Force was not appointed by Congress and therefore could not determine what counts as “preventative care.” Ron and Matthew break down the problems with that argument. Then, pharmaceutical giant Merck ($MRK ) is suing the Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over the drug price negotiation provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. They claim that it would be a violation of the 5th Amendment. Do they have a case? Finally, Johnson and Johnson’s ($JNJ ) COVID-19 vaccine lost its emergency use authorization. Why and does it matter? Subscribe to the FLATLINING Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the iHeartRadio app, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Pandora, TuneIn, and Audible. Articles mentioned in this program: Appeals court to hear arguments about ObamaCare preventive coverage - The HillAppeals court to weigh fate of ACA preventive care requirement - AxiosMerck sues US government to halt Medicare drug price negotiation - ReutersUS FDA revokes emergency use authorization for J&J's COVID vaccine - Reuters This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.flatlining.net