California Will Help Pay for Your PrEP

If you need help paying for PrEP, you can now enroll in California’s statewide PrEP Assistance Program (PrEP-AP). The program is run by the California Office of AIDS and provides financial assistance with PrEP medication and related medical expenses.

If you have insurance (including Medicare and private insurance), the PrEP-AP will pay for all PrEP-related medical out-of-pocket costs including deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. The program will also cover any medication costs not covered by the drug manufacturer’s copay assistance program. Gilead, the manufacturer of PrEP, has a copay assistance program that will cover up to $4,800 toward the cost of your prescription.

If you don’t have insurance, the PrEP-AP will pay for all PrEP-related medical costs including doctor visits, HIV testing, and labs. You will be able to get the medication for free through Gilead’s patient assistance program. Uninsured individuals must go to a provider within the state’s “PrEP-AP Provider Network” to have their medical costs covered.

In order to be eligible for the PrEP-AP, you must:

• Have a modified adjusted gross income less than 500 percent of the federal poverty level (about $60,700)
• Be at least 18 years old, although individuals under 18 will become eligible in the near future
• Be a resident of California—regardless of immigration status
• Not be fully covered by Medi-Cal or other third party payers

If you would like to enroll in the PrEP-AP, start by visiting One Community Health, one of five enrollment and provider sites in the state. An experienced enrollment worker will assist you with enrolling into both the PrEP-AP and Gilead’s assistance program.