US Appeals Decision Striking Free Access to Key Health Services

The US Friday told a Texas federal judge that it’s challenging a decision that threatens to strip millions of Americans of free access to potentially life-saving preventive services.

Judge Reed C. O’Connor, of the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, on Thursday found that the US Preventive Services Task Force had been unconstitutionally appointed, and therefore its recommendations—requiring cost-free insurance coverage for treatments deemed essential—were unenforceable.

The Justice Department, noting that the “Affordable Care Act has ensured that millions of Americans have access to critical preventative health care” for over a decade,” acted quickly in filing its ...