Texas judge strikes down free access to PrEP under Obamacare
A federal judge in Texas ruled that the requirement to cover HIV prevention drug PrEP “violates” the religious rights of individuals and employers.
District Court Judge Reed O’Connor, who was an appointee of President George W. Bush to the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, has also thrown the requirement for insurance providers to cover a range of other preventative services, such as mammograms and colonoscopies, under the Affordable Care Act into doubt.
The ruling has the potential to affect the nearly 168 million people on employer health insurance and on Obamacare’s individual market.
The judge sided with conservative employers and individuals in Texas who argued that requirements set by the US Preventive Services Task Force were unconstitutional, with the ruling blocking enforcement of its rules nationwide. READ MORE: PrEP: 5 questions about the HIV prevention drug answered When taken correctly, PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by 99 per cent.
