Kennedy vs. Braidwood Management ruling preserves essential structure for determining core health services
For Immediate Release: June 30, 2025
Contact: Elizabeth Finley, [email protected], 919-749-7309
Washington, D.C. — On Friday, the US Supreme Court handed down a decision in the Kennedy vs. Braidwood Management case that preserves the constitutionality of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the body that defines essential services covered by health insurers. The initial case focused on insurance coverage of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention under the Affordable Care Act as a part of USPSTF-recommended services but also attacked the ability of the USPSTF to set recommendations for any services, which threatened services like STI screening, well checks, and immunizations. The National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) responded to the ruling with the following statement:
“The Supreme Court’s ruling preserves one of our most powerful tools for fighting this nation’s epidemics of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs): a system that guarantees insurance will cover the most basic preventive medical care. The basic STI screening and treatment services that Americans access at their doctors’ offices every day are the most fundamental tools we have to keep preventable and treatable infections like chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and congenital syphilis in check.”
“While Kennedy vs. Braidwood Management protects the US Preventive Services Task Force, which currently provides that insurance should cover the basic screening and treatment people use to protect themselves from STIs, the ruling also provides the administration with an increased role in shaping the future of the Task Force and how it might approach covered services.”
“We encourage Secretary Kennedy and the administration to preserve and expand the best practice, evidence-based STI screening and treatment recommendations for coverage by the USPSTF so American patients can protect themselves from epidemic STIs and access the essential care they need from their healthcare providers.”