The case could decide if Obamacare can make health insurance companies cover cancer and HIV prevention services.


The US Justice Department has filed an appeal against a federal judge's ruling that rolls back parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including parts that require health insurance companies to cover preventive services like cancer screenings and HIV prevention drugs.


The appeal was filed on Friday, one day after US District Judge Reed O'Connor said that forcing religious employers to pay for health care services like HIV prevention and birth control goes against their beliefs.

In a statement, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, "The president is glad to see that the Department of Justice is appealing the judge's decision."


"Preventive care protects and improves our health, saves money for families, and saves lives," she said. "This decision could put critical care at risk."

The ruling on Thursday is one of the most serious legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, in recent years.


Larry Levitt, the executive vice president for health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, told the Associated Press, "This is not the kind of court case that could kill the Affordable Care Act, but it would limit a popular benefit that tens of millions of people use."


In the past few years, conservative groups have worked harder to make it harder for people to get reproductive health care.


Businesses and people from Texas brought the case against the ACA mandate. They said that paying for HIV prevention drugs and services like pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) would force them to go against their religious beliefs.

Their lawsuit said that these services would "promote homosexuality, prostitution, sexual promiscuity, and IV drug use."

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Conservative groups are also waiting for a decision in another case in Texas. They want federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk to stop selling pills that are often used for abortions.

In a previous case, Judge O'Connor ruled that the whole ACA was unconstitutional. However, the US Supreme Court later overturned that decision.


Even though conservatives haven't been able to get rid of the ACA, the current case could make it harder for the government to force insurance companies to cover screenings for cancer, mental health problems, and diabetes.


This is done by a group called the US Preventive Services Task Force, which O'Connor called "illegal" because it goes against the Constitution's rules about how government officials are chosen.


The head of the federal task force, Dr. Michael Barry, said in a statement that the decision would keep people from getting "important preventive services that have been shown to help them live longer and healthier lives."

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES