In letters to the Senate health and Finance committees, HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute Executive Director Carl Schmid urges lawmakers to ensure the next HHS secretary will lead with science and continue President Donald Trump’s 2019 program to end the HIV epidemic. Schmid explained in his letters to the committees that Trump pledged in his 2019 State of the Union speech to “eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within ten years” and then announced the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) program that boosts HIV testing, treatment and prevention programs. Schmid noted the initiative was continued by former President Joe Biden and the program’s jurisdictions have seen a 21% decrease in new infections between 2019 and 2023. The country saw a 6% decrease.
“It is essential that the next HHS Secretary continues the President’s Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative; commits to supporting research, science, and best practices; and confronts the stigma and discrimination often associated with HIV to finally end HIV,” the letter says.
Biden admin fails to address copay accumulators as term ends
Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, told Inside Health Policy the new administration does not need to issue new guidance to enforce the court decision. “Follow the court decision,” Schmid said. “Tell states that they have to comply and tell insurers that they have to comply.” A federal judge affirmed in January 2024 that a provision in the 2020 exchange rule barring insurers from using copay accumulators for certain branded drugs is still in effect, since the 2021 NBPP that let insurers use the mechanism was vacated in a September ruling. HHS initially appealed the ruling, but weeks later the Department of Justice dropped the suit.
Health Insurers Must Cover All PreP
“With low uptake of PrEP among the communities most impacted by HIV, this insurance coverage requirement with zero cost-sharing will help jump-start the use of more effective forms of PrEP and lead to fewer HIV transmissions,” says Carl Schmid, executive director of HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute. “We are grateful to the Biden-Harris administration for responding to our request to issue this guidance. Without it, we feel some insurers would continue to only cover daily oral PrEP and not provide PrEP users with the choice they need. With up to a third of privately insured PrEP users still being charged cost-sharing, we must ensure that both federal and state regulators vigorously enforce PrEP coverage requirements.”
ME insurer to cover HIV drugs after complaint, others still pending
Insurer Harvard Pilgrim will add HIV medication Biktarvy and four other drugs to its formulary for Maine patients after the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute filed a discrimination complaint against the company for marketing plans that discriminate against those living with HIV. The organization has filed similar complaints against insurers in several other states, alleging the plans violated Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements.
Long Covid, AI ‘obsession,’ trust: What STAT readers thought went overlooked in 2024
One major underdiscussed issue this year was the Biden administration’s failure to enforce a 2023 U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruling that struck down a Trump-era rule allowing insurers to implement “copay accumulator” programs.
