In a filing submitted yesterday to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, it was announced that an agreement was reached to not enforce a ruling made in March by a Federal Court in Texas during the appeal of that ruling which had overturned a mandate for free preventive health services coverage.

In the case of Braidwood Management, Inc., et al. v. Xavier Becerra, et al. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) preventive service insurance mandate for services recommended by the U.S Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) was vacated nationally. The ACA mandates that group health plans and health insurers cover a long list of preventive health services like cancer screenings, immunizations and contraceptives without out-of-pocket, co-insurance and deductible costs to patients. The Braidwood Management ruling applies to services recommended by the USPSTF made after 2010, when the ACA was enacted.

This is good news for the more than 150 million individuals who are eligible for preventive care services free of out-of-pocket charges.