Since the start of the HIV epidemic in 1981, over 700,000 Americans have lost their lives to AIDS. Being infected used to be a death sentence. But now, 40 years later, the U.S. is on the precipice of eradicating HIV.

The U.S. Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative provides a road map to reduce new HIV infections by 90% by 2030. A key preventive strategy in this plan is preexposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, medicine that is almost 100% effective in preventing HIV infection when taken as prescribed.

Today, Medicaid and Medicare cover PrEP at zero or low cost, and there are assistance programs as a backstop. Just this year, PrEP was designated a required preventive service under the Affordable Care Act that almost all insurers must cover at no cost.

But the latest challenge to the ACA has put these gains at risk.

Read full story at The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/hiv-prevention-pill-prep-is-now-free-under-most-insurance-plans-but-the-latest-challenge-to-the-affordable-care-act-puts-this-benefit-at-risk-171086

Image courtesy: https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/FDAHIVDrug/dd94b9ab97d14c6f9ec04661c8e81c86