| > They can take pre-exposure prophylaxis (prep), a kind of drug that reduces their chance of contracting it by 99% or so. This comes as a daily pill, and is popular among gay men in rich countries. The article takes a global focus (which makes sense since most new HIV diagnoses happen outside of the United States), but even the United States has over 30,000 new HIV infections per year. In 2021 feds mandated that insurance companies must include PrEP as free preventative care, but that doesn't help the most at risk who are young and may not be insured (30-day supply of generic PrEP costs ~$2,500, and every 3 months people must have doctor visit and bloodwork to check HIV and STIs, and for potential liver and kidney damage). In 2022 a federal judge ruled that they can not require Christian companies to cover PrEP as this violates their religious rights under federal law[1]. This will likely make it's way up to the Supreme Court, and there's a high risk that as a result people in the United States will then need to pay out of pocket for PrEP. [1] https://www.axios.com/2022/09/07/court-hiv-prep-requirement-... |
Er, no, generic Truvada costs $30-$60/month, although it was not available as a generic in 2019, which is when the mandate for free PrEP without cost-sharing was first issued. (The mandate was issued in 2019, but it did not fully go into effect until 2021).
That said, the drug costs aren't the only (or even biggest) costs associated with PrEP - the doctors' vists and labwork are much more. Under the ACA, those were required to be covered for free on all insurance plans, but a judge in Amarillo, TX blocked that as part of a ruling on a lawsuit against abortion care.
> and for potential liver and kidney damage
They aren't checking for liver damage. They do check for indications that the drug isn't being absorbed correctly, which is done via a test for kidney functioning, but kidney issues for both Truvada and Descovy as PrEP are extremely rare. And there are no liver concerns associated with either one.