mintz
pro bono portfolio
//
2023
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Even with breakthrough medication that transformed the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from a near-certain fatal disease to a manageable but chronic illness, many with HIV still endure debilitating effects. Even with early diagnosis and managed care, HIV raises the risk of heart attack, certain cancers, pulmonary disease, and other critical ailments, further complicating the condition.
Fighting for Access
to Lifesaving HIV Medicine
The Mintz attorneys brought to bear tremendous depth of experience in litigation and insights that helped us prepare a persuasive and emotional brief. Our goal was to get the judges to care about ending the HIV epidemic, and we couldn’t have made such powerful arguments without Mintz’s commitment and knowledge. We are so appreciative of their dedication and skills.
Senior Director of Litigation and HIV Law,
ben klein
learn more about this Important work
View the 2022
Pro Bono Portfolio
Working with Mintz attorneys Drew DeVoogd, Kate Stewart, and Courtney Herndon, GLAD (GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders) decided to file an amicus brief to challenge the court’s decisions. In just six weeks, a legal team was assembled to prepare a powerful and extensively researched brief. Detailed information on the medical and societal impact of HIV and the prevalence of HIV-related illness and death in the United States, along with research by experts from Harvard and Yale, allowed the briefing team to argue that if the lower court decision is allowed to stand, approximately 20,000 additional Americans will contract HIV within the next five years, costing the US health care system roughly $8 billion dollars. These staggering negative outcomes, the brief argued, could be prevented by reversing the lower court.
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD)
Pro Bono Team
rachel wang
Project Analyst
Project Analysts
courtney herndon
Kate f. stewart
Andrew H. DeVoogd
Attorneys
Member and a Lead Attorney
Of Counsel and a Lead Attorney
Associate and a Lead Attorney
katharine k. foote
Associate and a Lead Attorney
susan m. finegan
Pro Bono Committee Chair
brooke siegal
Summer Associate in 2023
Shaina sikka
Former Project Analyst
For nearly three decades, the disease was a death sentence, impacting the most vulnerable communities most severely. Finally, in 2012, the FDA approved HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a daily pill that, when properly used, reduces the viral load of HIV nearly to zero. Almost a decade later, in June 2020, insurers were required to cover the costly PrEP without a co-pay obligation for patients, increasing access to the lifesaving medication dramatically.
Shortly after the mandate was implemented, a group of Christian business owners and individuals sued the government, challenging the requirement for complete insurance coverage of PrEP in a Texas federal district court on alleged religious grounds. After the court struck down part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirement for no-cost coverage of PrEP in March of 2023, the government appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which stayed the implementation of the lower court’s order during the appeal.
In late June 2023, GLAD filed the brief on behalf of the HIV Medicine Association and the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors . When the Fifth Circuit ultimately rules on whether patients must pay for PrEP treatments, the ruling could have ramifications on a broad range of other preventative services requirements under the Affordable Care Act. The Mintz legal team continues to follow and contribute to this important case.
GLAD (GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders)
HIV Medicine Association
National Alliance of State and
Territorial AIDS Directors
The GLAD and Mintz team put together a truly compelling picture of the tragic history of the HIV pandemic, as well as the dramatic real-life repercussions, in terms of human life and dollars, of allowing the lower court’s decision to stand. Every time I have the honor of working on a case like this, I am reminded of the practical and life-changing impact of our work as attorneys.
Associate
courtney
herndon
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