Supreme Court Appears Likely to Uphold PReP Coverage

April 22, 2025
HANK ORSO

It appears that the US Supreme Court will uphold an Obamacare mandate for preventive care. This is big news for individuals who take PReP.

As reported by the always awesome Joe. My. God site, conservative justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, joined the court’s three liberals in their scepticism "of arguments that Obamacare’s process for deciding which services must be fully covered by private insurance is unconstitutional." (Associated Press)

The impact of this is enormous for over 150 million Americans, as the treatments and medications covered under the provision of the Affordable Care Act include "statins to prevent heart disease, lung cancer screenings, HIV-prevention drugs, and medication to lower the chance of breast cancer for high-risk women."

As reported by the A.P., the case was heard Monday by the SCOTUS after an appeals court struck down some coverage requirements. This was in Texas, of course, and was brought about by conservative Christians arguing that their religious liberties were infringed upon should they be "forced" to comply with full coverage.

The court's final ruling is expected sometime in June.

As reported in a 2022 New York Times report regarding the initial appeals court ruling: "(It) took explicit aim at the H.I.V. drug regimen known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, saying the law’s requirement that it be fully covered violated the religious freedom of a plaintiff in the case, Braidwood Management. The company’s owner, Dr. Steven F. Hotze, a well-known Republican donor and doctor from Houston, has previously challenged the Affordable Care Act on other grounds."

Joe. My. God reports previous appearances of anti-LGBTQ+ activist Dr. Hotze on that site: In April 2022 he was indicted on two felony counts related to a "voter fraud search" in 2020, holding a man at gunpoint; he encouraged TX governor Greg Abbott to "shoot to kill" Black Lives Matter protesters; and in 2015, he said that same-sex marriage will result would encourage anal sex among minors.