LGBTQ, HIV groups urge President Biden to create PrEP program

Over 100 HIV and LGBTQ+ groups sent President Biden a letter urging him to include the creation of a national grant program for the HIV prevention medication PrEP in his 2023 budget.

Signatories of the letter — which include public health organizations, providers, community health centers, and more — contend that a national grant program would help to expand PrEP into marginalized communities that face significant disparities in PrEP access and uptake. “A comprehensive nationwide program dedicated to PrEP would be instrumental in improving HIV prevention, particularly among minority and low-income communities,” said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+ Hepatitis Policy Institute. “A major component of ending the HIV epidemic includes greater access to these drugs.”

Currently, only one in four people eligible for PrEP are taking it. The uptake is particularly low among certain minority populations, with just 8 percent of Black people and 14 percent of Latino people eligible for the medication, compared to 63 percent of white individuals.

To mitigate those disparities, the signatories requested that Biden allocate $400 million to establish and implement a national PrEP grant program in his 2023 budget. This funding, which they say is needed for community and provider outreach, would go to community-based organizations responsible for providing HIV prevention services, especially in communities with low access and uptake. Organizations include health departments, Indian tribal communities, rural health clinics, Ryan White clinics, sexual health and family-planning clinics, and others.

The letter’s signers state that this funding will further the efforts of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. — which aims to reduce new HIV infections by 90 percent in 2030, in part by expanding PrEP access.

Additionally, their proposed program would fund ancillary services and PrEP medications for underinsured and uninsured individuals. Members of Congress have already introduced two bills to increase and support PrEP access at a national level.

“Increased federal investment in HIV prevention medicine is absolutely necessary to prevent HIV,” said Schmid. “We hope President Biden will honor our request, which will help uphold his commitment to ending HIV in the United States.”

With President Biden’s budget expected out next month, the organizations hope the federal government will consider the national PrEP grant program in its efforts to combat HIV in the United States and help remedy racial health disparities.