HIV+Hep in the News

A Texas federal judge ruled on Wednesday that requiring employers to provide health coverage that includes HIV prevention drugs is unconstitutional, saying that it violates the religious freedom of a Christian-owned company. The ruling by Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas could jeopardize the ability of the Affordable Care Act (known as Obamacare) to require which preventive health services and drugs must be fully covered by private health insurance. Under the ACA, employers must provide insurance coverage for drugs prescribed for HIV prevention, known as PrEP.

Carl Schmid, the executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, said the organization was not surprised by O’Connor’s decision, giving his past rulings, not only against the Affordable Care Act, but LGBTQ rights in general. “Preventive services covered by private insurance plans without cost-sharing, such as HIV testing, hepatitis B and C testing, and PrEP, are all critical and well-established public health preventive services that must continue,” Schmid said in a statement.

A group of Democratic senators is pressing AHIP over reports that some insurers are not providing cost-free coverage of HIV prevention medication and related services as required under the Affordable Care Act, a move that comes one day after a court ruling threatens access to PrEP and other preventive services .

“Judge O’Connor has a long history of issuing rulings against the Affordable Care Act and LGBT individuals, and we expect the case to be successfully appealed as has been the case with his previous discriminatory decisions,” said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute in Washington, DC, in a prepared statement issued shortly after the ruling. “To single out PrEP, which are FDA approved drugs that effectively prevent HIV, and conclude that its coverage violates the religious freedom of certain individuals, is plain wrong, highly discriminatory, and impedes the public health of our nation,” he said.