THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

"This broad and dangerous order will impact critical preventative care services that millions of Americans rely on, including cancer screenings, pregnancy-related screenings and preventative mental health care," said Ben Klein, GLAD Senior Director of Litigation and HIV Law. "Today's order in Braidwood v. Becerra will have direct and devastating consequences for efforts to combat the HIV epidemic. We have a safe, approved therapy, PrEP (Preexposure Prophylaxis), that is nearly 100% effective at preventing transmission of HIV but that remains underutilized, particularly among Black and Latinx communities. Ending the requirement that insurers cover PrEP with no cost-sharing will increase new HIV diagnoses and exacerbate racial health disparities when what we need is to be ensuring more people have access to PrEP. Copays and deductibles deter people from accessing healthcare. Make no mistake, we will see more HIV transmission as a result of this ruling."

According to researchers at Yale and Harvard, ending the prohibition of cost sharing for PrEP will increase HIV transmission among men who have sex with men by at least 17% in the first year alone.

The CDC reported in 2019 that only 23% of people eligible for PrEP were prescribed it, and that only 8% of Black people and 14% of Latinx people eligible for PrEP received it compared to 63% of white people.

"States must take action now to address the glaring danger presented by today's ruling in Braidwood v. Becerra," added Klein who is working to enact legislation to create a state mandate requiring insurers to cover PrEP with no cost sharing. "In Massachusetts today, only 9,113 of the 24,900 Massachusetts residents at high risk for HIV have been prescribed PrEP. We must do better. We urge the legislature to pass an Act to Address Barriers to HIV Medication that will fix this problem for Massachusetts."

Through strategic litigation, public policy advocacy, and education, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders works in New England and nationally to create a just society free of discrimination based on gender identity and expression, HIV status, and sexual orientation. www.glad.org .