Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) significantly increased the number of people at risk of HIV diagnosis who were prescribed preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a preventative medication taken in pill or injectable form, according to Rutgers Health-led research. The study, published in Health Affairs, analyzed PrEP prescription data from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., between 2012 and 2023.
Researchers found rates of PrEP prescribing increased overall and significantly increased relative to the number of new HIV diagnoses across all demographic groups, potentially because of overall increases in PrEP access and decreases in HIV diagnoses. Gains in access to PrEP, though, were greater for white populations compared to Black, Hispanic and Latino populations.
“Medicaid expansion is a powerful tool for improving HIV prevention,” said Elizabeth Stone, lead author of the study and a core member of the Rutgers Center for Health Services Research at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research. “But the disparities we observed underscore the need to intentionally address barriers that may be limiting access to PrEP for Black and Hispanic communities specifically.” To read the full story.