Dr. John Carlo is concerned that patients at Prism Health North Texas who rely on the health care safety net will soon be struggling even more to stay on PrEP, a medication that prevents HIV transmission.
Carlo, chief executive officer of the clinic, which runs three locations in Dallas, offers free PrEP to roughly 250 patients, he said, thanks to an assistance program run by Gilead Sciences. The drugmaker currently manufactures two PrEP medications.
The program also helps Carlo generate money to cover the care people on the medication need, like regular doctor visits and lab tests.
Without Gilead's help, Carlo said, "none of these people would be in care with us."
Nationwide, safety-net clinics like Prism Health North Texas rely on Gilead's Advancing Access Patient Assistance/Medication Assistance Program to fund services that keep patients in need HIV-negative.
In April, Gilead announced it will change how much it reimburses through that assistance program. For pharmacies that contract with certain safety-net clinics, like Prism Health, the change means less reimbursement cash to pass along to the clinics.
The domino-like impact of the company's move means Prism Health may lose between $2 million and $3 million annually, Carlo estimated.
The Advancing Access program offers free medicine to the uninsured.
