Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/19-431_5i36.pdf
Page Number: 19

Cite as:  591 U. S. ____ (2020) 

15 

Opinion of the Court 

those identified services.  Because that asserted limitation 
is found nowhere in the statute, we agree with the Depart-
ments. 

“Our analysis begins and ends with the text.”  Octane Fit-
ness,  LLC  v.  ICON  Health  &  Fitness,  Inc.,  572  U. S.  545, 
553  (2014).    Here,  the  pivotal  phrase  is  “as  provided  for.” 
To “provide” means to supply, furnish, or make available.
See  Webster’s  Third  New  International  Dictionary  1827
(2002)  (Webster’s  Third);  American  Heritage  Dictionary 
1411 (4th ed. 2000); 12 Oxford English Dictionary 713 (2d 
ed.  1989).  And,  as  the  Departments  explained,  the  word 
“as” functions as an adverb modifying “provided,” indicat-
ing “the manner in which” something is done.  83 Fed. Reg.
57540.  See also Webster’s Third 125; 1 Oxford English Dic-
tionary, at 673; American Heritage Dictionary 102 (5th ed. 
2011).

On its face, then, the provision grants sweeping authority
to HRSA to craft a set of standards defining the preventive
care that applicable health plans must cover.  But the stat-
ute  is  completely  silent  as  to  what  those  “comprehensive
guidelines” must contain, or how HRSA must go about cre-
ating them.  The statute does not, as Congress has done in
other statutes, provide an exhaustive or illustrative list of
the preventive care and screenings that must be included. 
See, e.g., 18 U. S. C. §1961(1); 28 U. S. C. §1603(a).  It does 
not, as Congress did elsewhere in the same section of the
ACA,  set  forth  any  criteria  or  standards  to  guide  HRSA’s
selections.  See, e.g., 42 U. S. C. §300gg–13(a)(3) (requiring 
“evidence-informed  preventive  care  and  screenings”  (em-
phasis  added));  §300gg–13(a)(1)  (“evidence-based  items  or 
services”).  It does not, as Congress has done in other con-
texts, require that HRSA consult with or refrain from con-
sulting with any party in the formulation of the Guidelines. 
See,  e.g.,  16  U. S. C.  §1536(a)(1);  23  U. S. C.  §138.  This 
means that HRSA has virtually unbridled discretion to de-
cide  what  counts  as  preventive  care  and  screenings.    But