Editor’s note: Donna Grande is CEO of the American College of Preventive Medicine, an organization serving more than 2,000 board-certified preventive medicine physicians across the United States.
As of March 30, millions of lives were put in jeopardy because a judge in North Texas rolled back years of progress on preventive care. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor’s decision to strike down preventive services requirements under the Affordable Care Act could render millions of Americans unable to receive life-saving preventive procedures such as colonoscopies, pap smears, mental health screenings and many other key interventions.
These preventive services have helped identify early stages of potentially deadly conditions, improved outcomes, saved lives and significantly reduced strains on our healthcare system. An issue brief from the Office of Health Policy in 2022 showed more than 150 million people with private health insurance — including 58 million women and 37 million children — benefited from receiving screenings without cost sharing. The preventive services requirement has also helped increase colon cancer screenings, the use of contraception and reduced the spread of HIV through nationwide first-dollar coverage for screening and prevention.
Patients benefit from preventive care and treatment — period. Evidence shows many essential services like early cancer diagnosis and smoking cessation improve quality of life, lead to better outcomes and prolong life expectancy. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a committee of carefully selected medical experts, recommended the clinical screenings and services based on evidence-based science and data that show early detection of key conditions reduces the burden on our healthcare system from a cost perspective, and mitigate a cost no one can put a price tag on — lives.
The progress we’ve made in empowering Americans to proactively focus on healthcare and preventive treatment, versus sick care, could be destroyed by one flick of the pen. Even more devastating — years of progress in closing the health equity gap could be rolled back. Studies indicate a major reduction in racial and ethnic disparities since the ACA was enacted — due, in large part, to increased access to screening for chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes and stroke that plague individuals living in historically unserved and underserved communities.
The American College of Preventive Medicine is made up of nearly 2,000 physicians working at the intersection of clinical care and public health who have seen this story unfold firsthand. Clinical preventive services improve health outcomes, reduce costs and have saved millions of lives.
As we look at the challenges our country faces today — inflation and rising costs already impact far too many American households. Until March 30, at least families and individuals had the peace of mind that being proactive and empowered about their health was possible. However, that peace of mind was wiped away with the tap of a gavel.
Disappointing. Heart-breaking. Devastating. I speak on behalf of ACPM member physicians when I say those words do not justly describe the impact this decision will have on the health of our nation. An outcry must take place to stop chipping away at a basic health care provision and from decimating progress and health equity. We stand together with many health professionals and organizations who are opposed to any action to undermine the basic provisions of the Affordable Care Act and we support an appeal of this uninformed decision.
