HIV+Hep in the News

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Democrats introduce bill to make PrEP available to more Americans

by | Jul 1, 2023

“We thank the leadership of Sen. Smith, Rep. Schiff, and their 53 colleagues in reintroducing the PrEP Access and Coverage Act,” executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute Carl Schmid said in a statement. “Passage of these bills will greatly expand access to PrEP for people who have health coverage across all payers and create a national PrEP program that includes community and provider outreach as well as PrEP drugs and associated services for the uninsured. We must address head-on the wide disparities in PrEP use, and these bills do that.”

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HIV cases will spike if health care doesn’t cover prevention, warn experts

by | Jun 30, 2023

“We must not allow a couple of individuals who want to discriminate against people who use PrEP and don’t support insurance coverage of preventive services, such as HIV and hepatitis B and C testing, to destroy the public health of our country,” said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, in a statement. “We filed this amicus brief to emphasize the important role testing for HIV and hepatitis plays in linking people to life-saving medications and, in the case of hepatitis C, curative treatment, along with the importance of helping people know if they have an infectious disease. Additionally, we take issue with the claim that PrEP is only for certain groups of people, to whom the plaintiffs object. PrEP is for anyone who may be at risk of HIV, and no employer knows or should know who those people are.”

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Most people who need hepatitis C treatment aren’t getting it

by | Jun 30, 2023

“We have a cure for a serious infectious disease, but people who have taken the time to get tested and know they have hepatitis C are not being cured,” said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute. “The vast majority of these people have health coverage but payers such as private insurers, state Medicaid programs and Medicare are erecting barriers to patient access by not covering medications or requiring cumbersome prior authorizations or imposing high patient cost-sharing. If the federal government is serious about ending hepatitis C, it needs to provide the leadership, particularly at [the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services], and address these payer barriers.”

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DOJ Defends USPSTF’s Role In Opening Brief In Braidwood Appeal

by | Jun 26, 2023

“We must not allow a couple of individuals who want to discriminate against people who use PrEP and don’t support insurance coverage of preventive services, such as HIV and hepatitis B and C testing, to destroy the public health of our country,” Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute says. “We filed this brief to emphasize the important role testing for HIV and hepatitis plays in linking people to life-saving medications and, in the case of hepatitis C, curative treatment, along with the importance of helping people know if they have an infectious disease. Additionally, we take issue with the claim that PrEP is only for certain groups of people, to whom the plaintiff’s object. PrEP is for anyone who may be at risk of HIV, and no employer knows or should know who those people are,” he adds.

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Medicare part D redesign will sharpen policy focus on protected classes

by | Jun 13, 2023

“This is a big concern of ours–the unintended consequences of the IRA–because of the out-of-pocket cap/benefit redesign and the drug negotiation process,” Carl Schmid of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute told the Pink Sheet. “Plans may want to have fewer drugs on the formularies, and there could be more utilization management including prior authorization. And this may result in more pressure to change the six protected classes.” Although there is currently no utilization management for HIV drugs, “the plans may push for changes of these existing policies,” he suggested.

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