Medications called PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, can lower the risk of contracting HIV by 97%. They’re recommended for anyone at high risk of exposure to the virus, including people with an HIV-positive partner. These medications can be expensive without insurance, but today the government announced a program to provide them free to people without insurance coverage.
To qualify, you need to test negative for HIV, and you need to show that you do not have insurance that covers prescription drugs. (If you do have insurance, insurance should fully cover the cost.) You’ll also need to get a prescription for the drug (Truvada or Descovy) from a doctor or clinic.
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To enroll or to figure out if you’re eligible, go to GetYourPrEP.com. The program covers the cost of the drugs, but doesn’t cover office visits or lab fees. So if cost is an issue, ask your clinic if they do low-cost or sliding scale HIV testing and prescriptions.
