Free PrEP under the ACA is under threat again
By Paul Shafer and Kristefer Stojanovski
Many Americans breathed a sigh of relief when the Supreme Court left the Affordable Care Act in place following the law’s third major legal challenge in June 2021. This decision left widely supported policies in place, like ensuring coverage regardless of preexisting conditions, coverage for dependents up to age 26 on their parents’ plan, and removal of annual and lifetime benefit limits.
But the hits keep coming. One of the most popular benefits offered by the ACA, free preventive care, is under legal threat again by Braidwood Management v. Becerra – originally Kelley v. Becerra. The Braidwood plaintiffs are a mix of individuals and business owners who object to purchasing insurance that covers preexposure prophylaxis – or PrEP – a medicine that is almost 100% effective in preventing HIV infection. One of the plaintiffs claimed that PrEP “facilitates and encourages homosexual behavior, intravenous drug use, and sexual activity outside of marriage between one man and one woman” and that his religious beliefs prevent him from providing insurance that covers PrEP.
On Sep. 7, 2022, Texas Judge Reed O’Connor issued a ruling that the requirement for insurance plans to cover PrEP violated the religious freedom of the plaintiffs. He also ruled that the ACA overstepped in delegating decisions about cost-sharing for preventive care to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Who this ruling will ultimately affect and whether it will eventually get rid of the requirement to fully cover other preventive care, like free flu shots and cancer screening, has yet to be confirmed.
We are public health researchers at Boston University and Tulane University who study health insurance, prevention and sexual health. With this policy now in jeopardy, prevention and the push for health equity in the U.S. stand to take a big step backward.
The ACA and preventive care
Section 2713 of the ACA requires insurers to offer full coverage of preventive services that are endorsed by one of three federal groups: the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (with an A or B rating), the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the Health Resources and Services Administration. If they recommend the procedure or intervention as important preventive care, then you shouldn’t have to pay anything out of pocket. For example, the CARES Act used this provision to ensure COVID-19 vaccines would be free for many Americans.
PrEP received an A rating in June 2019, paving the way for both PrEP and related services like clinic visits and lab tests to be covered at no cost for millions of people.
Though Section 2713 of the ACA doesn’t work perfectly, sometimes leaving patients frustrated by unexpected bills, it has made a huge difference in reducing costs for services like well-child visits and mammograms, just to name a few.
The legal arguments
The latest case rested on legal technicalities that have nothing to do with PrEP, but rather whether the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force can wield the authority granted to them by the…
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