Black-led Organizations Celebrate Supreme Court Ruling That Preserves Coverage of PrEP and Other Preventive Services

Black-led Organizations Celebrate Supreme Court Ruling That Preserves Coverage of PrEP and Other Preventive Services

(New York) – Today, meaningful access to preventative care was preserved for millions of people by the Supreme Court in Kennedy v. Braidwood. Guaranteeing free access to essential preventive services—such as HIV prevention medication (PrEP), cancer screenings, vaccines, and routine check-ups—is a well-established approach that strengthens public health and health equity. This decision means that, for now, the requirement for these services to be covered in full by private health insurance remains in effect.

Due to persisting health disparities, a loss in this case would have been felt most keenly in the South, where Black and brown Southerners would have had the gains made towards health equity since the passage of the Affordable Care Act and its preventative care mandate stripped away.

“This decision is a victory for public health and the millions of people who rely on preventive health care,” said S. Mandisa Moore-O’Neal, Executive Director of CHLP. “Preserving preventative care means that our communities, especially Black and brown Southerners, will continue to have access to a range of preventative services, the loss of which would have been devastating for many years to come,” she continued. “As we applaud this victory, let us remember that our work is far from over until all barriers to quality, dignifying healthcare have been removed.”

To ensure that the voices of Black and brown Southerners who would be most impacted by this case were heard before the court, CHLP and PrEP in Black America partnered with Afiya Center (Dallas), Women with a Vision (New Orleans), SisterLove (Atlanta), BlaqOut (Kansas City, Missouri), and Equality Federation in filing a friend of the court brief in February.

D. Rashaan Gilmore, BlaqOut Founder and President/CEO:
“The Court’s decision to uphold the ACA’s preventive care mandate preserves a vital safety net that has helped close health gaps created by racism, stigma, and structural neglect. For those of us who have had to fight for every inch of dignity in the healthcare system, this ruling is not a gift—it’s the bare minimum of what justice demands. It affirms that our right to preventive care cannot be dictated by someone else’s prejudice or politics. We shouldn’t have to earn access to stay alive.”

Cheriko (Riko) Boone, Founding member of PrEP in Black America (PIBA) and Director of the HIV Project at Treatment Action Group (TAG):
"Almost four years ago, in December 2021, we celebrated FDA approval of the first injectable form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the third product at the time to enter the market that dramatically reduces the risk of acquiring HIV–preceded by two forms of oral PrEP that were FDA-approved in 2012 and 2019. However, despite these remarkable innovations which, in theory, portend to end the HIV epidemic and global pandemic, we are yet continuing to see inexcusable disparities whereby populations most heavily affected by HIV continue to be the least likely to gain access to them. The US Preventive Services Task Force's (USPSTF) ‘Grade A’ recommendation for PrEP as a critical preventive intervention is an essential tool toward resolving those disparities. Recent approval of injectable lenacapavir as a fourth PrEP option brings an end to new HIV diagnoses even more within our reach, but this goal is contingent upon systemic and structural interventions such as USPSTF recommendations that help to expand, not restrict, access through health insurance coverage afforded by the Affordable Care Act. PrEP in Black America applauds the U.S. Supreme Court's decision recognizing authority of the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to appoint members of the USPSTF to issue vital public health recommendations; as well as recognizing how expanded access to PrEP and other preventive health services are predicated on rejection of prejudice based on sexual orientation and other protected identities."

Fran “Hutch” Hutchins, Executive Director, Equality Federation:
“It is a relief that the Supreme Court recognized what we all know: preventive health care saves lives. Yet our work to end the HIV epidemic is still jeopardized by federal funding cuts, political interference, misguided state policy, and bias and discrimination. We must continue our zealous advocacy for health care, so that every person in our community is free to thrive.”

Grabiela D. Hernandez, Justice, Law, and Policy Project (JLPP), SisterLove, Inc.
“The Supreme Court’s decision in Braidwood is a vital victory for reproductive justice and public health. Access to preventive care, including HIV prevention medication like PrEP, is not just a public health issue, it’s a matter of bodily autonomy, dignity, and the basic human right to live free from discrimination. Reproductive justice means ensuring that everyone, especially communities historically denied care, can access the full range of healthcare services they need to live and prosper. This ruling affirms that preventative care is life-saving care, and it cannot be compromised by political or ideological agendas. While today’s ruling is an essential step forward, we must continue to repudiate threats to our rights, our health, and our bodies.”

Kae Greenberg, Staff Attorney, CHLP:
“However pleased we are with the preservation of the ACA's preventative care mandate, we cannot allow ourselves to become complacent. This decision does not mean our work is done, as we must continue to combat the onslaught of attacks by both right-wing individuals as well as members of the federal government against access to comprehensive, science-based healthcare and services. It is not a victory if technical access to preventative care services is maintained, but members of our community do not have practical access to them.”

The court reaffirmed that its ruling is based on the fact that the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has the authority to oversee the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) in a manner that could influence its future recommendations. This introduces the potential for political interference in the USPSTF's guidance—an influence not previously made explicit—and raises concerns about the prioritization of ideological agendas over scientific evidence.