HIV+Hep in the News

The hidden cost behind your “$0 copay” drug assistance program

“In one of his executive orders, President Trump is asking agencies to come up with actions they can take that will lower costs for the American people, including health care,” said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, which advocates for patients with chronic health conditions and was the lead plaintiff in the 2022 court case. “By complying with the court order, it will translate into lower costs for prescription drugs.”

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Peter Nelson, Critic Of Coverage Expansions, To Lead CCIIO

Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Foundation, said his group looks forward to working with Nelson, as it did during the first Trump Administration, “to emphasize the needs of patients and the important beneficiary protections that are enshrined in the ACA. If we are going to make America healthy again, these foundational protections cannot be compromised,” he added.

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Biden rule cleared hurdles to lifesaving HIV drug, but in Georgia barriers remain

PrEP users should not face out-of-pocket costs, said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, which lobbied for the rule. It applies to those on the federal marketplace plans and most large private health plans. A similar rule exists for Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans. Schmid said he does not think the Trump administration will repeal the rule, but he is concerned the U.S. Supreme Court could end coverage for preventive services, including PrEP, when it issues a decision in Braidwood Management v. Becerra, anticipated this summer.

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U.S. businesses seek to accelerate the movement to end HIV

Certainly that’s the hope of Carl Schmid, founder of the HIV lobbying group HIV+Hepatitis Institute, who played a major role in getting USBAEH started and serves as its government affairs cochair. “I’ve always wanted to have a private sector component [to HIV lobbying] like the way that [the global HIV program] PEPFAR has its own business coalition or the Global Fund has Friends of the Global Fund.” He also said that USBAEH came out of a January 14 meeting with a government affairs game plan that would involve more letters, opinion pieces and Hill visits, as well as working at the state level with USBAEH’s chapters in Houston, Los Angeles and Atlanta. “We need to energize and activate state and local leaders,” he says. “That’s how you really get things done.”

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