Supreme Court Considers Overturning Chevron Doctrine, Sparking Concerns Over Impact on Federal Agency Authority and Health Care.

The Supreme Court may overturn the Chevron doctrine, a legal doctrine that has been used by federal agencies since the Reagan administration to defend themselves in court. The doctrine, which states judges should generally defer to agencies’ reasonable interpretations of their powers when Congress has been unclear, has been a target for some members of the high court’s conservative supermajority. The court has options to weaken Chevron short of overturning it, but these cases are part of a broader set of cases in which the justices have sought to diminish the power of expert agencies. The American Cancer Society and other groups argue that overturning Chevron would cause significant disruption to the stability of the health care system and consumers. Proponents of Chevron argue that the modern application of Chevron is a “distortion” of the doctrine and subjects industry to the whims of White House.