20 HIV & hepatitis organizations urge the U.S. Supreme Court to protect preventive services coverage

File Amicus Brief Describing Benefits of PrEP, HIV & Hepatitis Testing

Washington DC… Today, the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, along with 19 HIV and hepatitis organizations, filed an amicus brief with the U.S Supreme Court in support of the U.S. government’s position in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, which challenges the ACA’s preventive services coverage requirement. The 20 non-profit organizations include national and state groups from around the country that promote access to and carry out HIV and hepatitis testing along with PrEP for the prevention of HIV.

“Coverage of no-cost preventive services, including HIV and hepatitis testing, along with PrEP, now rests with the highest court in the land. In our brief we laid out the critical role testing plays in linking people to life-saving medications and, in the case of hepatitis C, curative treatment, along with the importance of people knowing if they have an infectious disease. We describe the growing importance of PrEP in preventing HIV, including long-acting PrEP drugs which are almost 100 percent effective in preventing HIV,” said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute. “We emphasize that coverage of preventive services by private insurers will help end HIV and hepatitis and losing them would certainly damage the public health of our country and increase medical costs.”

“The Court must understand the importance of the ACA preventive services requirement and the severe ramifications on the American people and the health of our country if they were to side with the plaintiffs,” continued Schmid.  “We are pleased that the Trump administration is continuing to defend the law, the value of preventive services in healthcare, and the role of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.”

Richard Hughes IV, partner with Epstein Becker Green and lead counsel for the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, stated, “Our team at EBG was proud to submit the brief on behalf of these organizations before the Supreme Court of the United States. This case poses the most significant threat yet to the ACA’s preventive care mandate, which ensures that over 150 million Americans from all walks of life enrolled in private health insurance plans have access to life-saving preventive care. Our legal arguments reinforce the constitutionality of the Task Force’s role, which we ask the Court to recognize and uphold.”

In the brief, the groups write that HIV and hepatitis “are infectious diseases spread by viruses which can and will spread to any person unless prevented from doing so. Removing access to evidence-based preventive measures will have a devastating impact, not only on those at risk for acquiring HIV and hepatitis, but also the population at large.”

In addition to the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute the other groups signing on to the amicus brief are: ADAP Advocacy Association, AIDS Alabama, American Academy of HIV Medicine, Caring Ambassadors Program, Community Access National Network, Community Liver Alliance, Community Resource Initiative, Fast Track Cities Institute, Frannie Peabody Center, Georgia AIDS Coalition, Global Liver Institute, Hepatitis B Foundation, Hep B United, Housing Works, International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, Latino Commission on AIDS, NMAC, SIECUS, and Vivent Health.

The Court has scheduled oral arguments for April 21, 2025.

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The HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute is a national, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote quality and affordable healthcare for people living with or at risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other serious and chronic health conditions.