Texas Judge Says Employers Don’t Have To Pay for HIV Prevention Drugs
Share
A federal judge in Texas has ruled that the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that requires employers to cover HIV pre-prophylactic drugs is unconstitutional and violates religious freedom.
US District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth on Wednesday granted summary judgment to Braidwood Management Inc. in its challenge to coverage of Gilead’s Truvada and Descovy. The two pre-exposure prophylactic drugs, commonly known as PrEP, are taken daily by hundreds of thousands of Americans, particularly men who have sex with men.
The suit is being led by attorney Jonathan Mitchell, the Republican former solicitor general of Texas known for his efforts to restrict abortion access in the state. Mitchell argues that mandatory PrEP coverage forces Christians to subsidize “homosexual behavior”
O’Connor, a George W. Bush appointee, said the government failed to demonstrate a state interest in providing coverage of the drugs that overcame the plaintiffs’ religious objections.
“The government defendants in the suit “outline a generalized policy to combat the spread of HIV, but they provide no evidence connecting that policy to employers such as Braidwood,” the judge wrote. “Thus, defendants have not carried their burden to show that the PrEP mandate furthers a compelling governmental interest.”
