Supreme Court to weigh Christian company’s challenge of Obamacare preventive care mandate

January 14, 2025

The U.S. Supreme Court has announced that it will examine the constitutionality of a number of requirements of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA) that were overturned by a lower court.

The Christian Post reports that the Supreme Court announced Friday that it will hear the case of Becerra v. Braidwood MGMT., Inc., et al., where a Christian-owned business had argued that certain ACA requirements violated their religious beliefs.

Specifically, the ACA required most private insurance plans to cover preexposure prophylaxis and medication for HIV prevention at no cost to the customer.

Braidwood Management, a Christian-owned business that self-insures over 70 employees, and six individuals in Texas, filed suit, claiming that the drugs “encourage and facilitate homosexual behavior.”

According to the Christian Post, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Braidwood Management in June after a Texas district court had earlier sided with the plaintiffs.

The district court had declared that all mandates authorized since 2010 by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force were unconstitutional because task force members were not nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

The 5th Circuit court narrowed that decision to only protect specific businesses and individuals who brought suit against the affected coverage requirements, but left the regulations in place elsewhere.

Federal officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying that the earlier court rulings would “would upend healthcare coverage for millions of Americans.”

It remains to be seen how the case will play out once Donald Trump takes office.

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