What’s at stake: Americans may soon lose access to cost-free preventive health care—including certain cancer and diabetes screenings, statins for heart health, hepatitis testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV. Advocates are fighting to protect this lifesaving health insurance coverage and need your help. Here’s how to pitch in, both as an individual and an organization.

TAKE ACTION: In just 24 hours, supporters have sent 700 letters to their Senators telling Congress to protect PrEP access and other preventive care services from RFK, Jr. Go to bit.ly/protect-prep2025 and take just two minutes to send letters to Congress to protect PrEP access and the USPSTF!

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— PrEP4All, Inc. (@prep4allnow.bsky.social) August 5, 2025 at 11:02 AM

How we got here: Current law under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare) requires that health insurers cover preventive services that have been proven effective—specifically, services that have received an A or B grade from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), a nonpartisan panel of experts formed in the 1980s. Members are appointed by the nation’s secretary of health, who currently is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court addressed these issues in Kennedy v. Braidwood (formerly Braidwood v. Becerra). The case dates to a 2022 Texas lawsuit in which Braidwood Management Company, along with a handful of other Christian-owned businesses and individuals, claimed the federal mandate to cover certain services—namely, PrEP—violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and “forces religious employers to provide coverage for drugs that facilitate and encourage homosexual behavior, prostitution, sexual promiscuity and intravenous drug use.” In an early ruling in the case, a Texas judge said that because USPSTF members are neither appointed by the president nor confirmed by the Senate, the panel is unconstitutional.

This summer, in a ruling initially viewed as a “critical win for prevention” and a “great victory for health care,” the Supreme Court upheld the ACA requirement for insurers to cover preventive services with an A or B grade. (The court did not address issues of religious freedom.) However, the court stressed that the secretary of health has power to remove and appoint members of the task force as well as to veto their recommendations.

As if on cue, the Wall Street Journal has reported that RFK Jr. will soon dismiss all the USPSTF members. Earlier this summer, in a similar move, he removed all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a committee of vaccine experts that sets the nation’s vaccine policies and recommendations, which also affects what is covered by insurance.

What you can do as an individual: To protect USPSTF from the proverbial wood-chipper—and thus ensure access to cost-free, evidence-based preventive care—advocates at PrEP4All are asking you to tell Congress to protect PrEP and preventive care. PrEP4All writes:

“We must fight back against efforts to hijack this important regulatory body for biased and political purposes. If you’re with us, will you click here to send letters to your Senators demanding they investigate these reports and call on RFK Jr. to testify in front of Congress?

“Let’s be clear: This task force isn’t political. It’s made up of volunteer scientists and doctors who review the evidence to determine what preventive services are most beneficial for patients. The USPSTF was created in 1984 to make recommendations for preventive care that are based on medical research results, not politics. …

 

“And thanks to the ACA and USPSTF’s work, millions now have free access to lifesaving preventive care—including PrEP. Now RFK Jr. is coming for it all.

 

“Don’t let him get away with it. Click here right now to send letters to your senators demanding answers and accountability.”

What you can do as an organization: In a similar effort, advocates with Families USA, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and partner organizations have launched a sign-on letter for organizations “urging Secretary Kennedy to defend the mission of the USPSTF and preserve it in its entirety.” Click here to sign by Monday, August 11, at noon ET. The advocates add: “If USPSTF is dismissed while this letter is in circulation for signatures, we will update the letter to ask Congress to hold the HHS Secretary accountable for his actions.”