HIV & AIDS

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Florida restores funding for 16,000 people’s HIV medication — for now

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The Florida Department of Health is reversing its funding cuts to a program that provides HIV medication for low-income individuals, but only until they can do it legally.  The department published a notice Tuesday backtracking its decision to gut the AIDS Drug Assistance Program after supposedly failing to find $120 million in the state budget to cover it. Instead, the state will attempt to go through the formal rule-making process in order to make the cuts after a lawsuit from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation accused officials of violating the law.  Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The […]

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The president wants to turn back the clock on HIV. We refuse to idly stand by.

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I’ve never taken comfort in the phrase, “HIV isn’t a death sentence anymore.” Yes, the phrase is meant to honor the hard-won victories achieved by HIV activists so that current generations of newly HIV-positive people could live long and fulfilling lives without fear, but the slogan is only as true if we have access to medication and social services. The truth is that 4,496 U.S. residents died of HIV-related illnesses in 2023. Of them, 24% were women, 30% were over 55 years old, 43% were Black, and 56% lived in the South, where homophobia, lack of sex education, and poverty run rampant. […]

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HIV drug’s Medicare costs under negotiation

The federal government is negotiating lower Medicare prices for a popular once-daily pill that treats HIV and prevents infection. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Tuesday it seeks to lower Medicare costs for 16 medications by negotiating with their manufacturers. Among them is Biktarvy, a drug taken after HIV exposure — known as a post-exposure prophylaxis — to prevent HIV infection as well as a treatment for those living with HIV. Gilead Sciences makes it. Usage of the drug has risen significantly since it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2018. More than 100,000 Medicare enrollees used Biktarvy between November […]

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An HIV breakthrough is here. Let’s not let it go to waste

As Congress nears a January deadline to pass a continuing resolution and avert a government shutdown, critical health programs hang in the balance. The now-expired Affordable Care Act subsidies and proposed cuts to the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program could undermine access to lifesaving services and medications, including Lenacapavir, a breakthrough drug offering new hope in the fight against HIV. Nearly 40 million people worldwide, and more than one million people in the United States, are living with HIV, with more than 30,000 Americans newly infected each year. A drug like Lenacapavir has the potential to change that trajectory, preventing the global spread of […]

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AIDS United Statement on Conferenced FY 2026 Labor-HHS-Education, and THUD Appropriations—Protecting Bipartisan Progress to End the HIV Epidemic

AIDS United welcomes the HIV-focused investments included in the conference agreement covering the FY 2026 Labor-HHS-Education, and Transportation-HUD (THUD) appropriations bills. At a moment when communities are working to sustain hard-won momentum, these bills reflect the enduring, bipartisan understanding that ending the HIV epidemic is achievable, and that Congress has a responsibility to support and uphold the programs that make that goal real. This agreement maintains critical federal commitments across prevention, treatment, and housing stability, all cornerstones of HIV outcomes. It underscores why the U.S. Senate must continue to serve as a firewall against efforts that would undermine care and […]

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Military ban on HIV-positive enlistees could set dangerous precedent, experts warn

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The Trump administration’s fight to prevent HIV-positive people from enlisting in the military will soon be settled, but not before upending the lives of those who want nothing more than to serve.  The Department of Defense has ordered officials not to train new recruits who are HIV-positive, according to guidance sent by the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command and obtained by CNN. The order, sent January 16, states “we are pausing shipping any HIV+ applicants and will follow-up in the coming weeks,” pending a ruling from an appeals court.  “As someone who was illegally kicked out of the Peace Corps for testing positive for […]

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What the AIDS crisis stole from Black gay men

Sex scares me. As a teenager, at a time when most young men were starting to physically connect with their new, exciting, primal sexual desires, the blood in my body was flowing through my veins just as fast. There was nothing unusual about puberty. Except that my desires were for other men. I had no references, images, or examples. No place to go, and no one to talk to about these feelings. My resources included a pamphlet from my godmother on men’s bodies. I clung to a passage in it on how common it was for teenage males to have sexual […]

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Delta Failing Their Employees by Restricting Access to PREP Drugs

In violation of the ACA preventive services coverage requirement, Delta Air Lines, which has 100,000 employees in the United States, is only covering daily oral generic PrEP to prevent HIV without prior authorization.  Contrary to the ACA, it is refusing to cover the full array of PrEP drugs specifically required by the United States Preventative Services Task Force (“UPSTF”) without access restrictions in its employee health plan. In recent months, the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute has reached out to Delta officials after employees received notice that Delta would no longer cover a branded oral PrEP drug. Delta’s Chief Health and Wellness Officer responded initially that the notices […]

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CVS tells HIV activists that pharma company Gilead needs to lower price of PrEP drug if it wants it covered

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An executive from CVS has demanded Gilead lower the prices of a new HIVprevention drug in an email . Dr. Michelle Guardine, chief medical officer for CVS Caremark, sent an email to PrEP4All, an organization working on PrEP access, that has demanded the pharmacy chain cover the new drug Yeztugo, also known as lenacapavir. In the message, which was posted to social media, the executive said the reason CVS controversially refused to cover the highly effective pharmaceutical was a concern over costs. “We believe that easy access to PrEP medications is critical for Americans who may be exposed to HIV,” Gourdine wrote. “Our formularies cover […]

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Republicans seek deep cuts to HIV prevention and treatment funding

In his 2019 State of the Union address, President Donald Trump pledged to boost HIV spending, with the lofty goal of bringing the nation’s epidemic to heel by 2030. Last year, this federal initiative, Ending the HIV Epidemic, demonstrated progress. This year, however, Republicans are seeking deep cuts to HIV prevention and treatment funding. The Trump administration proposed in its 2026 budget request to eliminate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s HIV-prevention division, and House Republicans are seeking nearly $2 billion in HIV-related cuts in their federal health spending bill. The Senate, on the other hand, proposes to keep HIV funding essentially at current levels in its corresponding […]

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