Share:
House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2025 - 2026
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 23, 2024 03:07 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Tarik Khan and Rep. Greg Scott, Rep. Benjamin V. Sanchez, Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, Rep. Abigail Salisbury, Rep. Darisha K. Parker, Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El, Rep. Matthew Gergely, Rep. Andre D. Carroll |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | The Prohibiting Insurance Discrimination for Persons on PrEP and PEP Act |
| Individuals who are prescribed HIV prevention medications as either pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), can experience difficulties when trying to enroll in life, disability, or long-term care insurance. Individuals who are at risk of acquiring HIV can take PrEP prior to HIV exposure and PEP after exposure to HIV. When taken as prescribed, PrEP and PEP are highly effective in preventing HIV. Punishing people who are proactive with their health care -- and have been prescribed HIV prevention medications -- by denying access to or charging more for life, disability or long-term care insurance policies directly contradicts public health efforts to end the HIV epidemic. While health insurers cannot discriminate against pre-existing conditions, those applying for life, disability, or long-term insurance do not have these protections. To increase the accessibility of insurance policies, we will be introducing legislation that would prohibit life, disability, and long-term care insurers from discriminating against any individual solely because they are prescribed PrEP or PEP, including denying or charging individuals on these medications more for insurance. PrEP and PEP are life-saving medication interventions, and we should be doing everything we can to encourage their use. California and the District of Columbia already have similar laws on the books, while states like Massachusetts and New York have taken action against insurers who have practiced this type of discrimination. Discrimination against people who take these protective medications should be made a relic of the past. Please join us by co-sponsoring this critical, commonsense legislation that would provide Pennsylvanians with access to life, disability, and long-term care insurance regardless of their HIV medication usage. |
Memo Updated: December 23, 2024 03:08 PM