[chimeracoder]

> In the US, there is big money to be made bilking insurers and citizens for as much money aas possible with crazy drug prices. This is what funds most of the ads we see for PreP, and also makes this treatment inaccessible to those who need it most.

This is wrong on so many levels.

Most of the ads you see aren't funded by Gilead, or by any pharmaceutical company at all. They're funded by local agencies and nonprofits tasked with HIV prevention efforts.

Secondly, Gilead (the manufacturer of PrEP) pays for the copay of the drug, up to a pretty high cap which is actually hard to reach under all non-catastrophic health insurances. That means that most people in the US who are on PrEP are eligible to pay literally $0 out-of-pocket. In other words, PrEP is literally cheaper for most Americans than it is for people in other countries, because every other country charges at least a nominal fee for the drug.

[metildaa]

> Most of the ads you see aren't funded by Gilead, or by any pharmaceutical company at all. They're funded by local agencies and nonprofits tasked with HIV prevention efforts.

This differs significantly from what I see, the local agencies in my area are focused on providing testing, care and treatment, not funding advertising.

In the latter half of your comment, you literally described how this is set up to scam insurance. If one has insurance, everything is great, otherwise they get stuck without medication they need.

[chimeracoder]

> This differs significantly from what I see, the local agencies in my area are focused on providing testing, care and treatment, not funding advertising.

Sounds like your local agencies either aren't doing their jobs or aren't spending their money appropriately. Public service announcements are an important part of public health in every country. Dissemination of public health information and knowledge of what resources are available doesn't happen by magic.

> In the latter half of your comment, you literally described how this is set up to scam insurance. If one has insurance, everything is great, otherwise they get stuck without medication they need.

"the copay with insurance is less than the out-of-pocket expense without insurance" is not, in se evidence or a description of a scam.