Health Insurance

Picture
U.S. progress in HIV fight continues to trail many other rich nations
NBC News, May 23, 2023
New HIV infections continue to ebb only modestly in the United States, while many other wealthy Western nations have posted steep reductions, thanks to more successful efforts overseas to promptly diagnose and treat the virus and promote the HIV prevention pill, PrEP.
Picture
PrEP, the HIV prevention pill, must now be totally free under almost all insurance plans
NBC News, July 2021

In a move hailed as potentially transformative by HIV advocates, the federal government has issued a guidance instructing almost all insurance plans to stop charging all out-of-pocket fees for the HIV prevention pill, known as PrEP. This includes the medication itself and, crucially, the quarterly clinic visits and lab tests required to maintain the prescription. 
Picture
'This will shut us down': HIV prevention clinics brace for Gilead reimbursement cuts
NBC News, July 2021
HIV prevention clinics are facing a fiscal crisis owing to the vagaries of an arcane federal drug pricing law, with a bare minimum of $100 million annually expected to drain from the nonprofits starting in 2022. This devastating loss of funds, which is expected to shut down some clinics, comes just as the federal government has ramped up spending in an effort to essentially end the HIV epidemic by 2030. 
Picture
"The Republican Health Care Plan Would Devastate People With HIV"
(POZ, June 2017)
President Donald Trump’s proposed federal budget and the House Republican health care bill, if enacted, would deal a devastating blow to people living with and at risk for HIV. Additionally, the president’s proposed cuts to global HIV funding could prove cataclysmic to developing nations.
Picture
"As the U.S. Wrests Greater Control Over HIV, What's the Key to Success?"
(POZ, April 2017)

Things are looking up in the U.S. HIV epidemic, with a likely increasing proportion of those living with HIV on treatment and virally suppressed. Going forward, addressing disparities, especially racial ones, is vital for further progress.
“Obamacare's Open Enrollment Period Starts November 15.” (POZ, Nov. 2014) How people with HIV can find health in-surance—or shop for a new plan—during the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period, Nov. 15 through Feb. 15, 2015. 
“Obamacare: Not So Affordable for People With HIV and Hep C.” (POZ, March 2014) Getting Obamacare passed and up and running was just the first round in the struggle to bring universal health care to people living with HIV and hep C.