The Buckeye Institute has submitted its second amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Kennedy v. Braidwood Management. The organization claims the Affordable Care Act (ACA) breached the U.S. Constitution by transforming the Preventative Services Task Force from an advisory role into a rule-making body, without reforming how its members were appointed and confirmed.
“The government’s attempt to create an independent agency without complying with the appointments clause strikes directly at the constitutional principle that liberty requires accountability,” stated Jay R. Carson, a senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute. He also noted that both the district court and the appeals court supported this position.
Initially, the Preventative Services Task Force operated as an advisory body under the control of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. However, the ACA altered this role, granting the Task Force rule-making authority that compels health insurers to offer preventive services to patients at no additional cost. The Buckeye Institute contends this shift contravened the Constitution’s appointments clause.
