Texas judge blocks Obamacare for free HIV drugs, cancer screenings
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A federal judge on Thursday struck down a key provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires health plans to provide free coverage for preventive care, including pre-exposure prophylaxis drugs for HIV (PrEP) and cancer screenings.
District Court Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, the author of several previous rulings against the ACA, issued the decision in a lawsuit filed by eight individuals and two businesses in the state.
They contended that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that made those requirements is illegal because its members are not direct appointees of the president, as is required by the U.S. constitution.
The group also argued that free PrEP coverage mandated business owners and consumers to pay for services that "encourage homosexual behavior, prostitution, sexual promiscuity and intravenous drug use" against their religious beliefs.
O'Connor said that "compulsory coverage for those services violates their religious beliefs by making them complicit in facilitating homosexual behavior, drug use, and sexual activity outside of marriage between one man and one woman."
Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD) and ViiV Healthcare, owned by GSK (GSK), Pfizer (PFE), and Shionogi (OTCPK:SGIOY) (OTCPK:SGIOF), operate in the market for PrEP drugs which are designed to prevent HIV infection that causes AIDS.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), CVS Health (CVS), Centene (CNC), Cigna (CI), and Elevance (ELV) are among health insurers with a notable presence in the ACA market.
Leading hospital operators: HCA Healthcare (HCA), Community Health Systems (CYH), Surgery Partners (SGRY), Tenet Healthcare (THC), Universal Health Services (UHS), Select Medical Holdings (SEM)
In 2018, shares of health insurers and care providers came under pressure after O'Connor ruled that the entire Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was unconstitutional. A federal appeals court later overturned his decision. 
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