HIV-prevention pill PrEP will now be covered under most insurance plans

Its name stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis. Supporters of the move to waive the fee to insureds call it a game changer.

Derwin Willoughby, of Raleigh, said: “It will change my life so much. “I probably wouldn’t be optimistic. Maybe I wouldn’t have to go through all the stress I went through just fighting this disease.”

The 59-year-old has been HIV positive for eleven years and believes there is a stigma that PrEP is only for the LGBTQ community, which is not true.

He said government coverage of PrEP under insurance programs would increase access to the pill and should empower people to stay safe.

Data from the CDC show that minorities are infected with HIV at a higher rate than whites. In fact, African Americans account for 42% of new HIV cases and Latinos account for 27%. In North Carolina, nearly 40,000 people are living with HIV or AIDS. More than 3,600 people across Tar Heel State have been prescribed PrEP.

“It’s a tool for being able to have safer sex,” said Christina Adeleke of the North Carolina AIDS Action Network. who need to protect themselves”.

According to Adeleke, the flip side of this move is that HIV affects communities that are often uninsured and out-of-pocket costs can be expensive.

“People who live in the south. Black community, brown community, lower income community,” says Adeleke.

Without insurance, the cost can be as high as $1,200 for a monthly supply.

Meanwhile, Willoughby encourages people to do their research and wishes PrEP was available to him 11 years before he contracted HIV.

Willoughby said: “The price to pay for this life is huge.