PrEP and the Supreme Court Ruling in the Hobby Lobby Case (2014)

The Advocate featured an article on the potential impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Hobby Lobby case for people who use HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). In the Hobby Lobby case, the Supreme Court ruled that closely held corporations can refuse to comply with the federal contraception rule under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) based on their religious beliefs. The ruling raises serious questions concerning whether religious objections to sex orientation could be invoked to deny coverage for HIV-related medication.

The article features commentary from CHLP’s Legal Director Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal who cautions that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), not only covers people with disabilities, including HIV, and those who associate with a person with a disability, but also those who are regarded as having a disability, whether or not they actually do.  Additionally, Espinoza-Madrigal noted: "Any type of barrier to treatment runs counter to very sound public health policies. If an employer is using moral or religious beliefs to deny people access to health care…it would contribute to the epidemic."