“After House Republicans initially put at risk the nation’s progress in ending HIV, we are relieved that House and Senate congressional negotiators have agreed to maintain funding for domestic HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs,” said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute.
“While we appreciate the proposed continued funding of domestic HIV and hepatitis programs and acknowledge the legislatively imposed budget constraints and competing priorities, the reality is that, without serious increases, our nation cannot meet its goals to end the HIV and hepatitis epidemics on time,” commented Carl Schmid, Executive Director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute. “Now, we must take our case for any funding increases to Congress, which has found it difficult to agree on spending bills, and House Republicans have even proposed to cut domestic HIV spending this year by $767 million.”
“We must make sure that everyone with a reason to be on PrEP is able to access the medication best suited to their needs. With new long-acting PrEP, many people who have had a hard time adhering to a regimen of a daily pill now have another option to prevent HIV,” said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute. “And we now know that more cases of HIV can be averted and medical costs can be saved by gradually increasing the uptake of long-acting PrEP. This must be taken into account as we develop policies and programs regarding the use and coverage of PrEP.”
Recent votes by the U.S. House of Representatives that unsuccessfully sought to cut domestic HIV programs offer a clear signal that even a wide majority of the House reject domestic HIV funding cuts. Yesterday, the House overwhelmingly rejected an amendment to the Labor, HHS appropriation bill that would have eliminated the HHS Minority HIV/AIDS Fund by a vote of 109 to 324. On that vote, more Republicans (110) voted against the amendment than for it. An amendment to cut AIDS research at the NIH was made in order by leadership but ultimately was never offered.
“For the first time since PrEP became available eleven years ago, over a third of the people CDC believes could benefit from being on PrEP are being prescribed it. However, there are stark and widening racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in PrEP use in Massachusetts and nationwide,” said Kevin Herwig, Health Policy Manager at HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute. “Allowing pharmacists to prescribe PrEP, as well as to link people with PrEP clinical services and HIV testing, will help remove barriers to getting HIV preventive medication for people and communities who have not yet been able to benefit from the promise of PrEP. We thank the Senate, Senate President Spilka, Senator Cyr, and others for supporting this important legislation.”