![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/shutterstock_2423197943-scaled.jpg\")
Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. (Shutterstock.com\/Bowonpat Sakaew)<\/p>\n\u201cPrEP has given us the power to prevent HIV in ways that were once unimaginable, but the people who need it must be able to get it and stay on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. (Shutterstock.com\/Bowonpat Sakaew)<\/p>\n
Decades ago, when I first started working in HIV\/AIDS, the risk of infection was synonymous with a death threat. Today, we have treatment that allows people with HIV to live long, healthy lives\u2014and we have prevention tools that can stop new infections from happening. Together these tools can help us eradicate HIV in our lifetime.<\/p>\n During this PrEP Aware Week<\/a>, we work to raise awareness of the pre-exposure prophylaxis medication that actually prevents HIV infection. Safe, effective, available in a daily pill or by injection, it is nothing short of revolutionary. As the New York State AIDS Institute notes: \u201cIn a world that still tries to silence, shame, and sideline communities most affected by HIV\u2014we choose something different. We choose peace. We choose power. We choose PrEP \u2026 the tool that makes it all possible.\u201d<\/p>\n But in order for HIV to finally be eradicated, we must ensure that everyone who needs HIV prevention and treatment can access it.\u00a0<\/p>\n PrEP has given us the power to prevent HIV in ways that were once unimaginable, but the people who need it must be able to get it and stay on it. For that to happen, patients need a trusted point of entry into health care; providers who welcome and initiate conversations about sexual health without stigma or judgment; affordable coverage for medication, labs and regular care; and help navigating a health system that can be intimidating, fragmented, even unwelcoming.<\/p>\n The state reports<\/a> that 60,313 New Yorkers used PrEP in 2024, an increase of more than 18 times over 2014. But stark inequities persist in who is accessing this critical medication. Black and Hispanic New Yorkers accounted for 78.3 percent of new HIV diagnoses statewide in 2024\u2014yet only 20.6 percent of reported PrEP users<\/a>. Ending HIV means reaching the people placed most at risk<\/a>, including Black and Latino New Yorkers, especially women of color and young gay and bisexual men.\u00a0<\/p>\n Those dual realities\u2014PrEP\u2019s extraordinary success and the persistent inequities in who benefits from it\u2014should define the next, and hopefully final, phase of New York\u2019s fight against HIV.<\/p>\n At Amida Care we have learned that health coverage can be an HIV-prevention tool, with HIV prevention integrated into whole-person care rather than treated as a separate intervention. We have seen what becomes possible when Medicaid is designed around the needs of communities most affected by HIV. <\/p>\n New York\u2019s Medicaid HIV Special Needs Plans (SNPs) provide comprehensive, coordinated care for people living with HIV and other eligible members with complex health care needs. Beyond covering medications, SNPs also connect members to a wellness community\u2014one with trusted providers, care coordination, and culturally responsive services that foster open conversations about sexual health, gender identity, mental health and trauma, substance use, HIV testing, PrEP and PEP<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2014, SNP eligibility was broadened to include people experiencing homelessness, and in 2017, expanded again to include transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers\u2014in both cases, regardless of their HIV status. This was a recognition that other New Yorkers with significant needs could benefit from culturally competent care delivered by SNPs. <\/p>\n It was also grounded in our public health responsibility to do all we can to prevent avoidable HIV transmissions. At Amida Care, the state\u2019s largest SNP, 28 percent of our non-HIV-positive members have utilized PrEP.\u00a0<\/p>\n Expanding SNP eligibility further\u2014to include HIV-negative Medicaid beneficiaries who are placed at elevated risk of acquiring HIV\u2014is the logical and imperative next step.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"CityViews](\"https:\/\/citylimits.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/trx_addons\/components\/lazy-load\/images\/placeholder.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n