Attorney General Bonta Joins Nationwide Fight to Secure Access to Preventive Healthcare

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a coalition of 24 attorneys general in a legal effort to safeguard access to lifesaving preventive healthcare for Americans. The coalition, led by Illinois, filed an amicus brief at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in support of the Biden Administration’s defense of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) preventive care mandate. The mandate requires private insurers to cover certain preventive services, such as cardiovascular disease intervention, lung, breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening, as well as dental and vision screening for infants and children, at no cost to consumers. A Texas court struck down part of the ACA mandate this March in a ruling Attorney General Bonta described as short-sighted and dangerous for ordinary Americans. Today, he and the coalition urged the Fifth Circuit court to reverse that part of the Texas court’s ruling, which would harm patients and public health systems.
 
“The fact is: It’s much safer, better, and cheaper to prevent diseases before they occur than to treat them after,” said Attorney General Bonta. “From prenatal care to cancer screenings, heart disease interventions to HIV medication, preventive care services play a vital role in protecting Americans’ health and improving their lives. That’s why I stand with my fellow attorneys general today in urging the Fifth Circuit to restore the ACA’s preventive care mandate. Our states' residents need and deserve seamless, affordable access to these essential services that are crucial to improving their well-being and quality of life.”
 
Since the ACA became law, millions of Americans have gained access to life-saving preventive medication and services. Numerous studies have found that the number of individuals using services such as blood pressure checks, cholesterol checks, and flu vaccinations rose significantly after the ACA’s preventive services provision was enacted.
 
In today’s amicus brief, the coalition of attorneys general wrote that the ACA’s preventive healthcare mandate continues to have significant public health benefits because:

• It promotes access to critical healthcare services, such as testing, screenings, and interventions that could prevent avoidable illnesses and stop the spread of infectious diseases.
• It lowers financial barriers and improves economic and health outcomes for marginalized communities — including women, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, and people of color — that have been traditionally underserved by health systems.
• It reduces the financial and other burdens placed on state public health systems and allows those systems to address other serious public health issues. By focusing on preventive rather than reactive care, state health infrastructures are better able to focus on improving population health and preventing the contraction of illness.

In today’s amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta was joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
 
A copy of today’s amicus brief can be found here.