There’s a medication that’s 92% effective at preventing AIDS transmission, but too many people can’t afford it. Sen. Kamala Harris unveiled a plan to change that on Thursday. Harris’ plan would require insurance companies to cover Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) without a copay and would create a federal grant program to help people without insurance get PrEP, along with an awareness-raising campaign so that people who could benefit would know that the drug exists and how they could get it.
“For too many in our country, lack of insurance coverage and exorbitant costs have put PrEP out of reach—and that needs to change,” Harris said in a statement. “Nearly four decades since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS crisis that took so many lives and caused countless others to live in fear, we can and will stop the spread of this disease.”
While PrEP is expensive, costing more than $20,000 a year, HIV is also expensive. Slowing the spread of HIV would lead to significant healthcare cost savings in addition to saving lives.