USA Today: Prof. Jacobson López Shares Expertise on Impending Supreme Court Case Determining Access to Preventative HIV Care
The Supreme Court recently agreed to hear Becerra v. Braidwood Management, Inc., a case challenging the Affordable Care Act’s mandate that employers provide health insurance coverage for preventive services, including HIV-prevention drugs like PrEP. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, it could allow employers to deny coverage for preventative medication based on religious objections, disproportionately affecting LGBTQ+ individuals who are at higher risk for HIV and setting a precedent that weakens anti-discrimination protections in healthcare. Prof. Daniel Jacobson López from BU School of Social Work explained to USA Today that many gay men already face barriers to accessing PrEP, including lack of awareness, stigma, healthcare costs, and provider reluctance to prescribe it.
Excerpt from “The Supreme Court may hinder access to this HIV prevention, gay sex drug. Why?” by David Oliver:
PrEP became available in 2012, and so with it the freedom to have sex without fear of contracting HIV. But that doesn’t mean everyone’s on board.
‘Although most insurances cover PrEP under the Affordable Care Act, research has found that many gay men are not aware that PrEP is often covered by insurance or where to receive PrEP,’ says Daniel Jacobson López, an assistant professor in Boston University School of Social Work. ‘Additionally, studies have indicated that associated health care costs, lack of information on PrEP, lack of willingness of medical providers to prescribe PreP, and stigma have resulted in the majority of gay men who are eligible for PrEP not being prescribed PrEP.’ Still, new HIV diagnoses ticked down 12% from 2018 to 2022, per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, likely in part due to PrEP prescriptions.”