Massachusetts lawmakers, with the leadership of House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz, Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues, and House Majority Leader Michael Moran, passed landmark legislation that will protect access to HIV prevention medication for residents and strengthen state efforts to end the HIV epidemic. Governor Healey signed the legislation on July 9.
The measure, included in the Fiscal Year 2027 annual budget submitted to Governor Healey on July 1, codifies into state statute current federal law and policy that requires insurance coverage for all FDA-approved HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medications without co-pays, deductibles, or prior authorization. This legislation sets a national precedent by protecting Massachusetts residents from rollbacks in federal protections for PrEP access and is the first to incorporate these critical insurance protections comprehensively by including all private insurers as well as MassHealth, the state Medicaid plan.
The law also requires that all persons being released from correctional facilities in the state and who are at risk for HIV be offered PrEP prior to release, including administration of an injectable form of PrEP that provides six months of protection from HIV.
The legislation was supported by a group of more than 60 public health experts, HIV physicians, state and national HIV medical organizations, and LGBTQ+ community groups who warned that a recent Supreme Court decision gave the federal Secretary of Health and Human Services unprecedented power to reverse key scientific recommendations about HIV PrEP medications. By passing the measure, the State Legislature has ensured the protection of Massachusetts residents from any reversal of federal policies to ensure access to PrEP for HIV prevention
— from a GLAD Law press release
