FACT SHEET: Braidwood Management Inc. v. Becerra Challenges Preventive Services Requirement Under the Affordable Care Act

On September 7, 2022, Judge Reed O’Connor, a federal district judge in Texas, issued a ruling in the case Braidwood Management v. Becerra, a lawsuit that challenges the requirement that most health plans cover preventive services at no cost under the Affordable Care Act. 

Judge O’Connor ruled that it was unconstitutional for the vast majority of the country’s health plans to be required by the United States Preventive Services Task Force to provide no-cost preventive services. That Task Force is the entity responsible for making recommendations on health screenings and testing for myriad conditions and diseases. 

Notably, Judge O’Connor’s ruling did not extend to preventive services recommended for women, infants, and kids by the Health Resources and Services Administration or Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The ruling did, however, hold that the plaintiff’s religious beliefs had been violated under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act given the plaintiff’s religious objection to covering an HIV prevention medication known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for employees.

United States of Care created the below fact sheet to summarize the case and what its implications could mean for interested stakeholders, as well as signal what to watch for as the case evolves over the coming months and beyond.