In this guide
The US Preventive Services Task Force rates screenings and other preventive services. An A or B rating means most private health plans must cover the service with no cost-sharing. In June 2025 the Supreme Court kept that rule, but confirmed that the Secretary of Health and Human Services controls the panel. In 2026, the panel's leadership and membership changed substantially. As of October 2026, we've found no report of any screening losing free coverage, but future ratings could change what's free.
What the task force does
- An independent panel of experts reviews the evidence on screenings, counseling and preventive medicines.
- It grades each from A (recommended, high certainty of substantial benefit) to D (recommended against), or I (insufficient evidence).
- Under the ACA, A and B grades mean most private plans must cover the service in-network with no copay, coinsurance or deductible.
That makes the panel, in effect, the body that decides which preventive services have a price of zero for most insured Americans.
The 2025 court case
In Kennedy v. Braidwood (27 June 2025), the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that task force members are officers the HHS Secretary may appoint and remove without Senate confirmation. The result:
- Free coverage stayed. Plans must still cover A- and B-rated services without cost-sharing.
- Control was confirmed. The Secretary can appoint, supervise and remove members, and accept or reject their recommendations.
What changed in 2026
- Four scheduled meetings were cancelled or postponed: July 2025, November 2025 (during the government shutdown), March 2026 and July 2026. The panel has not met since March 2025, so draft recommendations are waiting.
- The panel's two vice-chairs, John Wong and Esa Davis, were dismissed in letters dated 11 May 2026.
- Eight new members were named on 17 September 2026, with Seth Corey as the new chair.
Medical groups and members of Congress objected, most recently in a senators' letter of 5 October 2026. HHS said it needed time to review applications and appoint new members.
What it could mean for you
- Today: we haven't found any A/B service that has lost free coverage (checked 11 October 2026).
- In future: new ratings could add services to the free list, or downgrade existing ones, which would let plans charge for them.
- Watch for: new or revised recommendations on cancer screening, heart disease prevention and other common services, and how insurers respond.
Why an economist cares
A price of zero changes behavior. When a screening is free, many more people get it; when it isn't, uptake falls, especially among people with less money. Whoever controls the ratings controls that price for tens of millions of people.
Sources
- NFP: Supreme Court upholds ACA preventive care requirements nfp.com
- AJMC: HHS Secretary dismisses USPSTF leadership (20 May 2026) ajmc.com
- Medical Economics: USPSTF roster adds new members (17 Sep 2026) medicaleconomics.com
- ASTHO: What USPSTF recommendations mean for state and territorial health law (2026) astho.org
- CNN: The task force that shapes America’s preventive care has not met in a year (3 Mar 2026) cnn.com
Please note. This is a developing story; check the latest before relying on it. General information, not legal or insurance advice.
Reviewed at least every three monthsNo paid placementsInformation, not medical adviceOur editorial standards
Joe Yang, PhD, Economics. Joe Yang holds a PhD in economics from the University of Washington. For four years Joe evaluated the costs and savings of US health programs for insurers and employers at a health-analytics company, and before that studied pricing and demand as an economist at Amazon and a data scientist at Oracle. These guides apply the same discipline to a simpler question: what care really costs, and where.