Policy Statement, Press Release
STD Leaders Condemn Dangerous Court Ruling on PrEP and Other Preventive Services
STD Leaders Condemn Dangerous Court Ruling on PrEP and Other Preventive Services
Braidwood Management vs. Becerra ruling threatens the nation’s health
For Immediate Release: September 7, 2022
Contact: Elizabeth Finley, [email protected], 919-749-7309
Washington, D.C. — On Wednesday, a Texas judge ruled that insurance coverage for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention under the Affordable Care Act violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and further called into question the legality of the expert panel that determines which preventive services must be covered by insurance plans. Coverage of PrEP and prevention services for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have been integral to the nation’s efforts to end the epidemics of STIs and HIV. The National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) responded to the ruling with the following statement:
“Today’s ruling undercuts one of the most powerful tools this nation has in the fight to end the epidemics of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) – guaranteed insurance coverage for basic preventive medical care. We cannot reduce the burden of these completely preventable infections on people and their communities without access to routine health services.
“For those of us leading the fight against STIs in the US and emerging threats like monkeypox (MPV), we have had to watch from the sidelines as science has given us the tools to end life-threatening epidemics, but the courts have continued to baselessly limit access to them.”
“The ruling in Braidwood Management vs. Becerra is just the next domino to fall, after witnessing the successful, gnawing attacks on contraceptive access, abortion, and reproductive autonomy. This latest ruling only accelerates the attack on the nation’s health, and it does far more than just thwart the winnable fights against HIV and STIs. We call on higher courts to reverse today’s ruling. If left to stand, it does exactly what advocates have warned about for a decade now: it risks the future health of every single American.”
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