HIV Prevention, Vaccines Threatened by Obamacare Case in Texas

In a quiet courtroom in North Texas on Tuesday, the latest battle lines were drawn in another fight over the Affordable Care Act—this time over the preventive services mandate—that could eliminate access to free vaccines, cancer screenings, and drugs that prevent HIV infections.

Kelley Orthodontics, Braidwood Management Inc., and several individuals challenged the mandate’s provision allowing a federal agency, an advisory committee, and a task force to decide what insurers offering ACA-compliant plans must cover. But their members aren’t appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, in violation of the US Constitution’s appointments clause, the plaintiffs argue.

The ...