Overview
(N.D. Tex., Mar. 30, 2023): A Texas federal district court judge held that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) PrEP coverage mandate, which requires insurance coverage for medication that helps prevent HIV transmission, violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Braidwood Management Inc., the challenging company, argued that its primary owner holds a sincere religious belief that homosexual sex and sex outside of marriage are immoral. Braidwood further alleged that requiring the company to offer employee health insurance that includes PrEP increases the likelihood that Braidwood employees will engage in homosexual sex or sex outside of marriage, and makes the Braidwood owner complicit in sexual conduct that violates his religious beliefs. Braidwood simultaneously argued that all ACA mandatory coverage requirements for preventive care services based on determinations by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (PSTF) are void because PSTF members were not appointed in accordance with the Constitution’s Appointments Clause. The court agreed, (1) finding that Braidwood cannot be required to offer insurance covering PrEP and (2) blocking enforcement of the ACA’s mandated preventive care services based on the PSTF recommendations. Read the full decision here. Defendants filed a notice of appeal on March 31, 2023.
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