HIV+Hep in the News

;

Here’s why most at-risk populations don’t use HIV prevention drugs

by | Jun 8, 2023

Carl Schmid is the executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, which has pressed health insurers to cover the costs of lab testing and medical visits that people need to get and stay on the medication. But he said those costs also can be a barrier to care for those who are uninsured and can’t afford such services. “They can get the drug for free – that’s not a question,” said Schmid. “It’s the labs. You have to have a doctor’s visit to get a prescription. And those things aren’t free.”

read more

HIV prevention drug uptake threatened in Obamacare battle

by | Jun 7, 2023

“Having cost sharing is a major barrier” to PrEP drugs, said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute. “PrEP was a central pillar” of government efforts to end HIV, he said. And the Braidwood decision “would really impact our efforts to end HIV and prevent new infections. PrEP is not just the drug. It’s all these lab visits, lab tests, the medical tests. That would go away.”

read more

PrEP is helping bring down HIV infections–but a major hurdle still remains

by | Jun 1, 2023

“It appears that our investments in HIV prevention are providing some positive results, but the persistent high number of new diagnoses and the low usage of PrEP among the communities most impacted by HIV point to the need for increased resources, particularly for a national PrEP program,” commented Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute in a statement about the new figures. “Both Presidents Trump and Biden have put forth initiatives to end HIV with calls for increased funding for testing, treatment, and prevention, including for PrEP. However, it is necessary for Congress to commit to the investments as well.”

read more

New HIV infections drop due to increased PrEP use

by | May 31, 2023

“It appears that our investments in HIV prevention are providing some positive results, but the persistent high number of new diagnoses and the low usage of PrEP among the communities most impacted by HIV point to the need for increased resources, particularly for a national PrEP program,” Carl Schmid, the executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, said in a statement. The HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute noted that while President Biden’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposal includes an increase of $277 million, for a total of $850 million, to accelerate efforts to end the HIV epidemic by 2030, current calls for deep cuts in domestic spending could jeopardize those efforts, increasing the number of new infections in subsequent years and prolonging the epidemic.

read more

Copay accumulator lawsuit aims to reduce costs to patients

by | May 25, 2023

“Copay accumulator programs are manifestly unlawful and endanger millions of people living with HIV, hepatitis, and other chronic conditions who rely on copay assistance to afford their medicines,” said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute. “Instead of engaging the substance of our case, the government is making the bizarre claim that the rule which expressly allows copay accumulators did not materially change the status quo.”

read more

Search

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This