In June the Rhode Island legislature passed, and Governor McKee signed, a law that will mean fewer people will get HIV. “An Act Relating To Insurance – Accident And Sickness Insurance Policies – Insurance Coverage For Prevention Of HIV Infection” (S.2255/H.7625) will ensure Rhode Islanders who can benefit from PrEP will have easier and more timely access to the form of PrEP that works best for them.
This new law prohibits health insurance companies from requiring patients to make co-pays or meet a deductible in order to receive PrEP — including long-acting injectable PrEP — or any HIV prevention drug, practices known as cost sharing. Cost sharing can essentially make medications inaccessible to patients because of high co-pays or the need to meet a high deductible.
Importantly, the new law also bars prior authorization and step therapy for current and future injectable forms of PrEP. Prior authorization is an insurance practice that requires patients to wait for prior approval from their insurer in order to receive a specific medication. Step therapy is a practice in which insurers require patients to try alternative medications before they can receive the medicine their health care provider actually prescribed for them.
—from a GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) press release (by Dr. Joseph Metmowlee Garland, GLAD Board Vice President)
Read the complete release here.
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