Following is a statement from NMAC Executive Director Paul Kawata on the federal court decision in Texas allowing private employers to opt out of providing insurance that provides access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication, a vital tool to prevent the spread of HIV:
“While not a surprise, this decision is deeply disappointing and could cripple HIV prevention efforts, particularly among communities of color and communities of poverty. For many people at higher risk of HIV, employer-provided insurance is often their only way to access these vital medications. This decision has the potential to cut off millions of Americans from the life-protecting medications they need.
“This decision could also completely undermine the bipartisan effort to end the HIV epidemic by 2030 begun under former President Trump and continued under President Biden. Cutting off such a vital source of HIV-prevention medications will make it exceedingly difficult to end the epidemic by the end of the decade.