Supreme Court upholds preventive services coverage requirements

Washington DC… Today, in a 6 to 3 decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood Management, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the ACA requirement that insurers must cover USPSTF-recommended preventive services at no cost. In reaction, Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, issued the following statement:

“This is a great victory for healthcare in our country and for everyone who believes in prevention, including the Trump administration. This legal attack was initiated by extreme right-wing social conservatives who sought to make sure that gay men and others could not access PrEP to prevent HIV. We are very pleased the Court upheld the coverage requirement. Now we must focus on making sure insurers comply with and regulators enforce the law, particularly with new, long-acting forms of PrEP. This victory is all the more important now that the Trump administration is seeking to defund much of CDC’s HIV and hepatitis prevention programs. While we continue to oppose those proposed funding cuts, we can rest assured that at least for people with insurance, preventive services such as PrEP, HIV and hepatitis testing will be covered at no cost.”

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In February 2025, the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, along with 19 HIV and hepatitis organizations, filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support of the U.S. government’s position. The Trump administration is prioritizing preventive health and continued the previous administration’s support of the ACA’s preventive services requirement. In June 2023, we filed an amicus brief with the Fifth Circuit US Court of Appeals, which 25 HIV and hepatitis organizations joined. In the amicus briefs, the groups described the key role testing plays in informing people if they have an infectious disease and in subsequently linking them to life-saving medications, and, in the case of hepatitis C, curative treatment. We also described the growing importance of PrEP in preventing HIV.

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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.