HIV+Hep in the News

Two separate complaints have been filed against the North Carolina Blue Cross and Blue Shield claiming discrimination against HIV patients. The suits, filed by the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute and the North Carolina AIDS Action Network, claim the insurance company places almost all HIV drugs, including generic PrEP, on the highest drug tier. This effectively causes those living with and vulnerable to HIV to pay the excessively high costs for their drugs.

Two HIV organizations are accusing Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina of discriminating against people who use drugs to treat or prevent the virus. The HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute and the North Carolina AIDS Action Network filed discrimination complaints Thursday against the insurer for placing nearly all HIV medications on its highest-cost drug tiers.

HIV and hepatitis groups filed discrimination complaints against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, alleging that the health insurer placed nearly all HIV medications on the most expensive tiers. The complaints were filed by the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute and the North Carolina AIDS Action Network with the federal Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services as well as with the North Carolina Department of Insurance.