Federal Judge Strikes Down ACA’s Coverage Mandate for PrEP Drugs

  • Sep 08, 2022

    A federal judge on Sept. 7 ruled that the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that individual and group health plans must cover pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medications to prevent HIV violates the religious freedom of objecting employers. The ruling is not likely the final salvo in a case that challenged the ACA’s entire preventive service coverage mandate, but it did spark outcry from one advocacy group representing HIV-positive patients. 

    The case in question, now known as Braidwood Management Inc., et al  v. Becerra, argues that Section 2713 of the ACA — which mandates coverage of preventive services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the Health Resources and Services Administration — is unconstitutional. It also challenges coverage mandates for specific preventive care, namely PrEP and some contraceptive methods, on religious freedom grounds.  

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  • Leslie Small

    Leslie has been working in journalism since 2009 and reporting on the health care industry since 2014. She has covered the many ups and downs of the Affordable Care Act exchanges, the failed health insurer mega-mergers, and hundreds of other storylines spanning subjects such as Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage, employer-sponsored insurance, and prescription drug coverage. As the managing editor of Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits, she writes and edits for both publications while overseeing a small team of reporters who also focus on the managed care sector. Before joining AIS Health, she was a senior editor for the e-newsletter Fierce Health Payer, and she started her career as a copy editor at multiple local newspapers. She graduated with a dual degree in journalism and political science from Penn State University.

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