While not surprised by Judge O’Connor’s decision, which will immediately impact coverage of HIV testing, hepatitis B and C testing, along with PrEP, it is imperative that these critical preventive services must continue for the health of our nation. We expect that the U.S. government will quickly act to stay this decision so that preventive services can continue nationwide, and appeal it.
Yesterday, 29 patient, provider, and consumer organizations representing a wide range of illnesses and health conditions filed an amicus brief in support of a case brought against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, the Diabetes Leadership Council, the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition, and three patients. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the lawsuit challenges the federal 2021 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters rule, which allows health insurers to avoid counting the value of drug manufacturer copay assistance toward patients’ out-of-pocket cost obligations. Plaintiffs recently filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting that the rule violates cost-sharing requirements mandated by the Affordable Care Act and is also arbitrary and capricious.
Today, the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute and the North Carolina AIDS Action Network filed discrimination complaints against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina for placing almost all HIV drugs, including generic Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), on the highest drug tiers, thus forcing people living with and vulnerable to HIV to pay excessive high costs to take their drugs.
The HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute (HIV+Hep) and the Autoimmune Association, along with 69 other patient organizations, commented on how the Section 1557 nondiscrimination in healthcare proposed rule can be used to improve patient access to prescription drugs. In their comment letter, the patient groups expressed strong support for the “meaningful steps to improve upon current regulations to ensure that people are not discriminated against in healthcare. In several instances, you have proposed to restore protections that had been included in the past but later withdrawn. In other instances, you have provided further clarity on what constitutes discrimination. In any instance, we emphasize that the law and whatever is finalized in regulation must be strictly enforced.”
The HIV+Hepatitis Policy Insite, the Diabetes Leadership Council, and the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging a federal rule that allows health insurers and pharmacy benefits managers to avoid counting drug manufacturer copay assistance toward patients’ out-of-pocket cost obligations. Due to increased deductibles and cost-sharing requirements, patients rely on copay assistance to help them afford their #Rx.