AIDS Foundation of Chicago ( AFC ) on Dec. 1 released a document that summarizes what persons utilizing the Illinois Insurance Marketplace would have to pay in out-of-pocket expenses should they wish to access pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP.
The PrEP intervention significantly reduces the risk of HIV infection by over 90 percent and is mostly available to consumers in the form of the medication known as Truvada. But Truvada's high costits average wholesale price is about $1,530.90 a month, according to AFCand insurance coverage complications have been among the issues that have stifled PrEP's widespread implementation.
Most insurance companies cover Truvada's use as PrEP, but many consumers are faced with high co-payments or deductibles when their physicians prescribe it. The medication's manufacturer, Foster City, California-based Gilead, will cover up to $300 of a patient's co-payment, but even then leftover out-of-pocket expenses can be unmanageable.
AFC's document compiles formulary information from Illinois carriers on the Marketplace, including Assurant, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Coventry, IlliniCare, Health Alliance, Humana, Land of Lincoln and United Healthcare. It also provides online listings of those companies' individual formularies, so readers can verify up-to-date co-payment and deductible information on their own before choosing a plan.
Open enrollment on the Illinois Insurance Marketplace lasts through Feb. 15, 2015.
The document can be accessed at www.aidschicago.org/resources/content/1/1/documents/afc-prep-marketplace-coverage.pdf .