Press Releases

63 HIV organizations urge Biden administration to require insurers to cover long-acting PrEP without cost-sharing

“Long-acting PrEP can be the answer to low PrEP uptake, particularly in the communities not using PrEP today. The Biden administration has an opportunity to ensure that people with private insurance can access PrEP now and into the future, free of any cost-sharing, with properly worded guidance to insurers,” commented Carl Schmid, Executive Director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute. “Poor PrEP uptake among various racial and ethnic groups is an example of failed healthcare decisions of the past. CMS can help correct these inequities by requiring insurers nationwide to cover all FDA-approved PrEP drugs, without burdensome prior authorizations, and begin the vigorous enforcement of ACA protections that has been lacking to date.”

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Job Announcement: Government Affairs Manager

The HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization incorporated in the District of Columbia whose mission is to promote quality and affordable healthcare for people living with or at risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other serious and chronic health conditions. We are seeking a Government Affairs Manager to advocate for our policy goals to end the HIV and hepatitis epidemics and increase access and affordability of healthcare with a focus on prescription drugs.

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House proposes to gut ending HIV programs—again

“Instead of providing new investments in ending HIV by increasing funding for testing, prevention programs, such as PrEP, and life-saving care and treatment, House Republicans are again choosing to go through a worthless exercise of cutting programs that the American people depend on and will never pass,” said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute. “These were purposeful decisions that are well below the agreed-upon budget caps. While we will vigorously fight these cuts, we look forward to working with the entire Congress in a bipartisan fashion on spending bills that can actually become law.”

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New CDC HIV Data Demonstrates the Impact of Flat Funding

While we would have liked to see improved outcomes, federal funding for CDC HIV prevention and the Ryan White HIV/AIDS care and treatment program, along with other critical programs, has remained flat for years. The only increases have been for the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, and even that program hasn’t received the increases it needs to be successful,” commented Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute. “Without significant increases for care and treatment, and prevention programs, including those for PrEP, sadly we will continue to experience only small drops in the number of new diagnoses, and racial and ethnic disparities will persist. As a nation, we can and must do better.”

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Biden administration strengthens patient protections in accessing prescription drugs

“We applaud the Biden administration’s strengthening of the nondiscrimination regulation in order to ensure that patients, particularly those who rely on prescription drugs, are better protected against the discriminatory practices of some insurers and PBMs,” commented Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute. “Patients are being faced with high cost-sharing, excessive utilization management techniques, such as prior authorization, drug exclusions, and now even AI tools that decide what drugs they can receive. We can now be assured that, thanks to the ACA, they must be implemented in a nondiscriminatory manner.”

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