Day 340: World AIDS Day

Hey all, I thought today of all days was an appropriate time for me to check in with everyone. Today is World AIDS Day, and I just wanted to take a minute and talk about what this day means to me. As a man who has taken the step to take PrEP, I feel this day is a terrific reminder about why I take my Truvada every day, and why I feel it is such an important tool in our arsenal to fight HIV/AIDS. So many lives have been lost to the epidemic, PrEP is a great step to ensure I will not become one of those numbers.

As a partner in a Serodiscordant Relationship, the reality of HIV is present to me in my everyday life. World AIDS day reminds us how far we have come due to Antiretroviral medications, but is also a reminder of how far we still have to go with no cure those living with HIV, are doing so everyday of their life.

The other way I think about World AIDS Day is as an artist. It amazes me how many performers, artists, and bright artistic minds were lost to AIDS. An entire generation of mentors, and inspiration to future generations wiped out. As an actor and director I mourn the progress in theatre and art as a whole that was stalled by AIDS. It was with this thought in mind that my partner decided to try something new for this years World AIDS Day. We wanted to create a visual spectacle on Art Hill in St. Louis, right in front of our art museum. He decided to go big and we were going to make an attempt at the world record for the most candles light in one place at one time. We had 13,000 candles and bags for the luminaries, we had almost 4000 pounds of sand to hold those bags down and we had an amazing crew of volunteers to help us spell out the word AIDS in candles. The letters were 100 feet tall and it was 200 feet across. When we showed up at 12:30 this morning, we got things started, and so did mother nature. For the next four hours, our crew battled freezing rain and sleet and temperatures of 20 degrees, but we got the letters outlined, only to find out that the weather was not going to let up, and we couldn't get the candles lit. It was a devastating blow, but in a way seemed somewhat appropriate. what better way to honor that lost art, than with an incomplete art installment. It seemed symbolic of the struggle that we face as humanity with this disease, we are making progress, but we've still got a long way to go. But with tools like PrEP, we can and will put an end to HIV/AIDS.

Thank you all for taking the time and reading this. As far as my life with PrEP is going, I am feeling great almost a year into this journey. As always I would love to hear from you all if you have comments or questions.

Day 286 I'm still here!

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. And I left the narrative in such a negative place. My apologies for my absence. It's not that I haven't had anything to say, or that I have not been able to get to it, I guess sometimes you just need to take a step back, which is what I did. However I am back and am thrilled to tell you about the developments in my PrEP journey.

When last I wrote, I was so frustrated by my lack of ability to get PrEP or to get funding for PrEP. But Several months later and I am still taking Truvada without breaking my bank. This is how. I have an amazing team at my doctors office. They found a way to make sure I was still able to get Truvada through them, even if I couldn't pay for it. Several new developments have also arisen so I don't have to be a charity case for much longer. Gilead is raising income levels for their Assistance Program to 500% of FPL (or approx $58,350). So you may be able to get PrEP paid for if you are making below that amount and can't afford the drug. Also being told that the Co-Pay Assistance program is expanding from $200 to $300 per month. This is clearly good news expanding the pool of people eligible for assistance. (Thanks to Damon Jacobs for the information!) The other thing is the fact that open enrollment for health insurance is rolling around again. I now know what I need to look for and will be able to see if I can afford a plan that will cover Truvada without me even needing the assistance. So I am grateful for the help from my doctor. I know they are truly looking out for the well being of their patients. But I hate being the charity case that they have taken on, and am grateful for the options that are available to continue to take PrEP without looking for a handout.

Now, another issue came up about a month ago, that had an effect on my PrEP experience. I got a new job! The issue is that this job occurred several days at the time i had been used to taking my Truvada. Not a huge deal, but when I would get home from work it became a challenge to remember to take the medication. So I made the choice to switch when I took my pill. The change from morning to night seems like a simple decision, but it is one that has made my life easier. One of the biggest arguments people have against PrEP is the argument that compliance to a daily regimen is not practical for many people. It is our job as people taking PrEP to find a way to make taking a daily pill possible. It is the only way PrEP remains effective.

Ok, I think I have adequately caught everyone up on my life, and I will try to keep bloging on a more regular basis. Thanks for taking the time to read. Feel free to comment, ask questions, and share this with anyone who might find it interesting.

Day 186: Not the End, Just a Detour

Thank you all once again for following my PrEP experience with Let’s Talk About PrEP. Today is not a good day for me as far as it concerns my PrEP journey. But I wanted to share this whole thing with you all good and bad. Now let me start by saying that physically I am great. There have been absolutely zero side effects since I started taking Truvada as PrEP. However I just found out that I no longer qualify for the medication assistance program provided through Gilead. This is a MAJOR bump in my road.

I received a letter last week that said that my eligibility period for the PrEP medical assistance program had expired. I was confused because I had given the paper work to my doctor weeks before making sure he was able to fill them out and get them faxed in before my eligibility ran out. So I called Gilead this morning to figure out what was going on. I was informed that after checking with Anthem about my health insurance they found out I now have discounted medication coverage with my plan… news to me. Because of the discounted plan I no longer qualified for the assistance program.

So ok. I don’t qualify for assistance but now the medication is discounted so I should be good right? WRONG! Even with my insurance’s help, my copay for Truvada would end up being $524. Clearly this in not something I can afford. Or even come close to affording. Gilead does have a copay assistance program, however that would only cover $200 a month. This will not cover my lack of ability to pay. While I appreciate the effort, I can’t pay more than $300 a month for anything right now.

So it appears that for the time being I have hit a roadblock in my journey. I took my last pill last night and it doesn’t look like I am going to be able to get a refill anytime soon. This does not mean I have given up on PrEP. In fact as soon as I either find a new source of money, a new insurance plan, or a way around this, I plan to get that prescription filled and to start again. In reality I am lucky since my partner is undetectable, so I am really still in a low risk situation as far as transmission goes. But I am going to miss that extra layer of protection, as so is he. I hate that the tools are out there for my protection… I just can’t afford to get them.

I will continue to keep you all updated on my journey, and as always please feel free to comment on this or ask any questions I might be able to help you with. Thanks for joining me on this PrEP journey. This is not the end, I just have to take a detour.

Day 159: Renewal

Hey all, I hope this post finds everyone well. As I sit and write this there are several things I find weighing on me. Perhaps weighing on me is a bit too heavy of a term, but there are several things on my mind that I think this would be an appropriate forum to address them. First off, it seems to me that there seems to be a war waging all around about the use of Truvada as PrEP. However, I feel that the war is being waged in such a bizarre and unnecessary manner. It seems quite extraordinary to me that there is such a debate about the use of a medication that has potential to save and change lives. I don't think anyone speaking on behalf of PrEP is claiming Truvada as the perfect answer to HIV prevention, nor do I believe anyone out there is claiming that PrEP is the perfect choice for every single person who is HIV negative. There are a lot of factors that go into the decision and it is not one that can or should be made on a whim. Discussion with medical professionals is vital. But the point that all of us advocating for PrEP are trying to get at is, there are still new infections happening all over the world. We now have a new tool in the arsenal that can help prevent these new infections if it is used as intended. Even those who speak against PrEP acknowledge that fact. No, Truvada will not protect against other STIs. Yes, Truvada must be taken every day in order to be effective. But it still is an option to help in our effort to get to zero new HIV infections. I am just hard pressed to see the advantage behind trying to fight something that helps achieve that common goal. Financial interests seem to play in there somewhere. This is why I feel it continually important to share my experience and to raise the awareness in the world about PrEP, I cannot put a price on the peace of mind that being on Truvada has given me and I would not trade it for anything in the world. I want others to be aware of this option so they can see if it is right for them as well. Some people will decide PrEP is not for them, and that is absolutely fine as long as they continue to use other prevention alternatives. But I want it to be a choice that they can make for themselves, without the interference of outside voices telling them it is wrong to want to protect themselves in this manner. So I will continue to be a voice for the cause telling them to find the prevention method that works for them. Safe is safe regardless of the form it takes.

Ok, so off my soap box (at least for a moment). Another topic I wanted to touch on for just a moment was the fact I received an envelope from Gilead earlier this week. Inside I found the paperwork needed in order to renew my PrEP financial assistance. This actually made me smile. As you recall, I found myself jumping through many hoops in order to get everything in order the first go around with Gilead. It was a pleasant surprise that they are working with me, sending me paperwork that has already been mostly filled out in order to expedite my assistance renewal and to prevent the assistance from lapsing. Still a bit of work required to get the medication, but not as much as it could have been. So if any of you are out there in the same boat as I am, be aware that they are trying to help out, just stay on top of that paper work so you don't let that assistance run out.

I guess that's all I have right now. I appreciate all of you reading and as always, I welcome any feedback or questions you all might have. Also, as many of you have done before, please continue to share my journey with others as they try to make the decision about whether PrEP is for them. Thanks for your support of Let's Talk About PrEP!

Day 131: Of two Minds

Hey everyone, thanks once again for reading Let's Talk About PrEP. I'm really excited that since I have started writing this account of my experience on PrEP that there seems to be an increase in the number of people I have seen talking about PrEP and more importantly I have seen a lot more people who say they are talking to their doctors about PrEP. Word is getting out and people are realizing that Truvada as PrEP is a valid option in HIV prevention. Awesome!!!

This brings me to something I have been trying to decide how I feel about for a while. As PrEP gained some notoriety, something disturbing came along with it. The term Truvada Whore started to be used by many who were trying to degrade those who were taking PrEP. This stigmatizing term is a way of ignorant people slut shaming responsible people who were being proactive in their own protection. This seems no different than the recent comments I mentioned in my last blog about PrEP being a "Party drug." The Truvada Whore term was intended as a derogatory attack. Since then there has been a campaign to reclaim the derogatory term as many have done before. An HIV counselor in San Fransisco has even made t-shirts. Now many people feel this is a great way to take back the term. I, however, am on the fence about how I feel about this campaign. I definitely see the fun side of taking the term and freely using it as a way to rebel against the stigma. On the other hand, rather than embracing the term I would much rather see it be eliminated from our vocabulary all together. I feel that no mater the intentions of the shirts and advertizing this term, using "truvada whore" just seems to further the negative stigma surrounding the use of PrEP. Create a new term, start a campaign against the term, or just ignore it, the less attention paid to it the better in my mind.

Now please don't take this as an attack on any of you who have purchased this shirt, or supported this campaign which is absolutely going to a good cause, but rather view this as the other side of the dialogue. I will not be making the purchase, but I would love to hear what you all have to say about this topic. Are you a #truvadawhore supporter or do you feel as I do? I don't really think there is a wrong side to this debate, just two different approaches to the same problem, the stigma surrounding PrEP.

Day 102: Party Drug?!?!?

HI everyone, it’s been a pretty busy week here for me, and I thought this as good of a time as any to check in with you all. As I write this, we are currently making our dissent into Atlanta, Georgia. Aaron and I were selected to be part of a photo shoot for the CDC in regards to compliance with HIV medications. While this is not directly addressing PrEP, adherence to medication is a vital part of my prevention life. Both my adherence to PrEP and my partner’s compliance with his Anti-retroviral regimen are important factors in my ability to remaining HIV negative. So I’m very excited to lend my voice and my face to this campaign. I also got a new job with a promotion company, which is very exciting and welcome news in my world.

Another important part of this past week was an event I went to that addressed Missouri’s HIV criminalization laws. It seems absurd to me that technically, in spite of any safety measures we might take, by his being with me, my partner is in Missouri a criminal for exposing me to HIV. These laws are clearly antiquated and really do need to be addressed. It’s not just Missouri that has laws like this criminalizing and basically forcing people with HIV into an abstinent life, there are more than half of the states in this country that have laws like that. DUMB.

Speaking of DUMB, I am brought to my final and perhaps most pressing topic of discussion. There was an article in today’s USA Today that talks about the debate that exists about PrEP. Now the fact that there is still a debate about whether PrEP is an effective tool in preventing new HIV infections is asinine in my opinion. Now the debate about whether PrEP is an effective prevention tool for EVERYONE, that seems to be more appropriate. No, I don’t think PrEP is right for everybody. But there was one comment in this article that really blew me away. Michael Weinstein, the head of AHF (AIDS Healthcare Foundation) made the comment “If something comes along that’s better than condoms, I’m all for it, but Truvada is not that. Let’s be honest: It’s a party drug.” So, there are SO MANY issues I take with this, especially as someone who takes Truvada as PrEP.

First of all, I have no idea what kinds of parties Mr. Weinstein is going to, but Truvada resembles nothing to any other party drugs I know about. In fact, it takes a few days for the Truvada to build up in your system. It’s not something you can just pop and go. In fact Truvada as PrEP helps promote a healthy lifestyle. It requires an HIV test every three months in order to obtain the prescription. But even more than attacking the drug, he just alienated anyone who takes Truvada and shames them for wanting to stay safe while having an intimate physical relationship. Yes, there are still risks related with unprotected sex, even while on PrEP, any other STDs are not prevented by PrEP and that is something to consider. HOWEVER, if condom only prevention were an effective tool, we wouldn’t still be getting new infections. But we are, and the people who are choosing to take Truvada are doing so because we want an extra layer of protection. We are not the ignorant party boys that Mr. Weinstein makes us out to be, but people who are taking their health into their own hands, if we are smart enough to assess the risk of HIV we are smart enough to asses the risk of other STDs as well, and if we determine there is a risk, I’m sure just as taking Truvada supplements our prevention regimen in the case of HIV, a condom will help supplement our protection regimen from those. But I think we deserve a little more credit.

That’s all I have for you right now. As always please share this with anyone who might appreciate it and any questions or comments are always welcome. Thanks for reading and have a GREAT day.

Day 80: No News is Good News, but so is Good News

Hey everyone, thanks for once again visiting "Let's Talk About PrEP." It has been 80 days now since I began taking Truvada as PrEP, almost 3 months. Last week I had my three month check in with my doctor. You see, when you take Truvada, there is a limit of 3 months to each prescription. Each new prescription is dependent upon a negative HIV test.

So I went in and visited my doctor and she decided that in addition to the HIV test she wanted to take a look at y liver enzymes, to make sure nothing is being effected by the medication. While I was talking to her, my doctor mentioned that she was surprised how few of her patients were on PrEP, and how she wanted to get more people on it. I talked to her about this blog as well as some other resources for those who were thinking about the sue of PrEP. The more the word gets out, the more people will be able to be protected. One thing we spoke about that might be a deterrent for some people is the commitment to take a pill every day. That leads me to one of the exciting pieces of news that came out last week that researchers are getting close to the development of an injection that could replace the daily pill. and this injection you would only have to get once every 3 months. I know for me this would be preferable to trying to remember a pill every day, and it might encourage more people to consider PrEP.

Anyway back to the doctor's visit. I have to say that this was by far the calmest I have ever been when getting an HIV test, because I knew I was if anything OVER protected. And this is the first time I haven't waited anxiously by the phone for a call. I knew if something abnormal came up I would get a call, but no news came my way, and I was okay with that. No news in this case is very good news.

Then there was another announcement that came out that a study that has been going for two years has found that no undetectable partner, gay or straight has transmitted HIV to their partner. Exciting news. and important in understanding HIV transmission and the laws that correspond to it. You can read more about this study here.

Alright, that's all I have for now, as always, thanks for visiting. Any feedback is always appreciated, and if you have any questions I would be happy to field them. Make sure to keep spreading that word about PrEP to anyone who might benefit from it. An easy conversation starter... "Let's Talk about PrEP."

Day 57 Checking in

Welcome back everyone. It's been a while since I've last posted so I thought I'd check in with you all. I'm doing great as far as my PrEP experience is going. There have been zero side effects to report and I just cannot express how much more at ease life seems to be without that ever present fear of infection hovering over my life. I have my first post-PrEP HIV test coming up here in a few weeks, but i feel it will be the least stressful test I have ever had.

I'm excited also to say that I am now a published writer. I have an essay about Let's Talk About PrEP in this month's A & U Magazine! You can check it out at aumag.com. It's a short little essay but it's great to continue to get the word out about PrEP. Word of mouth is going to be one of the biggest ways to get people informed about the opportunity that is available.

One last thing, I received a message from a friend of mine from college, Ellen, who wrote me, "Hi Phil! I've been loving your PrEP blogs and I was catching up on them today and wanted to pass on some info that some of your readers might appreciate. Having worked in a hospital/clinic setting as a social worker I've helped a number of families access the prescription assistance programs available through the various pharmaceutical companies and have run into issues at times based on where a patient is going for care. Not all clinics are willing to assist their patients in the prescription assistance programs because the medication is almost always sent to the clinic (as yours is). Not all clinics are willing to have the meds sent to them to distribute. This can be a big barrier for folks who are trying to use these programs." This once again makes me so grateful to have the great care that I am receiving. I really do encourage anyone looking into PrEP to do some research in finding out if your clinic is willing to work with you to get medicated.  If they are not willing to work with you, it might be time to make a switch. This is great feedback Ellen, thanks. 

Well that's all I really have for right now. As always, I welcome any feedback, questions, or comments. Is there anything you are curious about that I might be able to shed some light on? Is there information that you think other readers would be interested in hearing? Please let me know. I want this blog to be an open forum for everyone. Thanks again for reading!

Day 36: Changing the Message

Hey everyone thanks once again for reading Let’s Talk About PrEP. Thought I’d do a little check in, seems like it’s been a while since I’ve written. Not too much on the home front to report, I got my prescription refilled, which worked a lot easier than I expected it to. Really, I didn’t have to do anything. The medication was shipped to my doctor’s office with no action required on my part. I have to say; that it was an unexpected, pleasant surprise when I got a call saying my medication was in. Other than that, I’m still feeling great, and I’ll be honest, my sex life is healthier and happier than I think it’s ever been. It’s amazing the great burden that is lifted once you know that protection is in place and the peace of mind that PrEP has brought to both my partner and me.

I have been reading a lot about PrEP lately. And it’s brought a few things to mind and has also opened my eyes to something that seems counter-intuitive to me as a human being, the idea of stigma for protecting yourself. So ok, I’ll start with a personal story. A few months before I began taking Truvada my boyfriend was asked to speak on a panel in LA in regards to PrEP. I, wanting to get out of St. Louis for a few days and in desperate need of a vacation, decided to join him. (Ok I guess I also went to support him, but don’t tell him that. It will go straight to his head.) So, we get to the Hollywood Improv, which was pretty cool, and toward the very beginning of this panel discussion a simple question was asked of the audience, which consisted primarily of gay men; How many of you use a condom every single time you have sex? The response wasn’t very surprising, a sparse raising of hands but a vast majority of the room looked around with their hands still firmly planted at their sides. With this information, the panel proceeded to discuss the merits of changing the message of what constitutes protection. I was dumbfounded when the leader of the AHF (AIDS Healthcare Foundation) continued to preach that the most effective tool for prevention was condom use and that should be the only message to the world. He would not accept the fact that there is a medication in Truvada that will provide people at high risk of infection with an alternative.

Fast forward to this week. I read a great article on HIV Plus Magazine’s website about PrEP. It was written by Michael Lucas and made some really interesting points. You can find the article here. Then I got curious and started reading the comment section. This is where once again the stigma of using PrEP reared its ugly head. Comments such as “I wonder if there is a pill that would stimulate brain activity? Why on earth would you take medication that you don't need? Stupid. Irresponsible.” Or “Gay men are not shouting from the rooftops about this potential game changer" because it's both woefully toxic and ruinously expensive.” These comments really seemed like an attack on those of us taking PrEP by uninformed people. But this is the culture that exists, gay men have been told since HIV/AIDS became a prevalent factor in our community that condoms are the only way to protect themselves from becoming infected. Times have changed and it is time that our message has as well. Luckily, I have not experienced the stigma that seems to exist, in fact I have had a really positive response to my sharing my PrEP journey. What have your experiences been? As always, I’d love any feedback or questions you might have. Thanks again for reading!

Day 21: Why PrEP

Hi everyone! Thanks for visiting Let’s Talk About PrEP. This is day 21 of my experience taking Truvada as PrEP and so far, things are going really well. No side effects to talk about and life seems to be business as usual. So I want to take this opportunity to talk about why I decided to start using PrEP. Now I said in my first post that there would be sometimes I would be discussing my sex life in this blog, and that I would warn you if that were coming, so… WARNING!!! WARNING!!! WARNING!!! Here it comes, if you happen to be a parental figure in my life, or if you view me as that big or little brother, or if the idea of my sex life makes you uncomfortable, thanks for reading and you probably want to stop reading after this paragraph. Now this is not to say this is going to turn into a pornographic blog by any means, so I don’t want to scare anybody off, but what parent really wants to read anything about their son’s sex life?

Ok now that that little bit is out of the way, back to the question at hand. Why PrEP? Why would a healthy, young man decide to take a pretty substantial medication every single day? It ended up being a decision I made after considering several factors. The most prominent factor in my choice was intimacy. For the past two and a half years I have been in a serodiscordant relationship. When we started dating, my partner was very up-front about his status. But he was amazing and I was determined not to allow something like HIV status to be a defining factor in our relationship. We decided it just meant we needed to be very careful and vigilant when it came to sex. But fact of the matter is when being safe is always in the back of your mind there is a certain level of intimacy that was eventually missing. I am versatile, I enjoy being the top and bottom, but my boyfriend hated wearing a condom, so I ended up primarily as the top in our relationship when we actually had sex. But the fear of transmission always stood in the way of a healthy sex life, even with a condom the fear of it breaking and the lack of intimacy made me question the traditional message of “the only way to protect yourself is a condom.”

I know it may ruffle a few feathers when I say; there is a certain level of closeness with bareback sex that, for me, could not be achieved when wearing a condom. With a partner who is undetectable, the probability of transmission is already pretty low. But when you add in the 99% protection rate of Truvada, the likelihood of HIV transmission basically becomes negligible. Now, all of the guides recommend using condoms while still being on Truvada. But I feel that by taking PrEP in combination with my partner’s undetectable status I am doing my part to be safe, while still allowing us to truly enjoy our sex life without condoms.

The other thing that PrEP does is allows me to have control in my protection. There are some medical professionals who look at my situation and even with the idea of bareback sex; they might say taking Truvada is an unnecessary precaution. However being on PrEP insures that I am in control of protection, I trust my partner and trust that he will be compliant with his treatment but this allows me to feel like I am not strictly dependant on his compliance to be protected.

Another great thing that Truvada gives me is peace of mind. Every three months when I would go in to get an HIV test (since I was in a “high risk situation”) both of us were nervous wrecks. There was still that fear in the back of both of our minds that something had gone wrong despite precautions we had taken. The addition of PrEP to our regimen really does give us peace of mind, which makes our sex lives a lot better.

PrEP might not be right for you. You might not be the kind of person who is able to or wants to take a pill every day. Maybe you are not in a situation where you are at risk of contracting HIV. Maybe you use condoms EVERY SINGLE TIME you have a sexual encounter. But for me Truvada allows me somethings I would not have otherwise.

Thanks once again for reading. I would love any feedback you might have for me. Tell me of your own PrEP experiences. Feel free to ask any questions you might have. And as always feel free to share this with anyone else you think would find this useful or interesting.

Day 11: Jumping Through Hoops

Hey everyone, I hope your new year has started off well! I know mine has. (I mean aside from the frigged temperatures and the several inches of snow St. Louis is experiencing today). So far, aside from the hangover morning I blogged about earlier, I have experienced zero physical side effects while on PrEP. But I wanted to take this snow day and check in and also talk about my process getting my PrEP prescription.

I titled this post "Jumping Through Hoops" because that is what it felt like I was constantly doing in order to get my hands on the TRUVADA, but I also have some extenuating circumstances that made it a bit more of a challenge. To give you an idea of the time frame, I first spoke with my doctor about getting a PrEP prescription on November 22, 2013 and I finally received the meds on December 26th. Now several factors played a roll in how long it took, so I'll walk you through my experience step by step to explain. I'm sure most people have different, easier stories, but this might serve as a resource for some people who are in my same shoes.

When I spoke with the nurse about the reason for my visit at the beginning of my first appointment, I actually had to repeat that I wanted to talk to the doctor about getting put on PrEP. She later told me she had never heard the term used before and had to ask the doctor what that was. I'm sure this is not uncommon. Luckily I go to a doctor who is familiar with PrEP and who I feel comfortable talking to about such things. It definitely made this process much easier.

When I spoke to the doctor about the circumstances of my relationship and told her about why I felt PrEP was an appropriate course of action, she agreed that TRUVADA would be a good tool in preventing infection. I'll go into my reasons behind my decision in a later post, but I will cover them because I feel that is an important part of this journey as well. Now after we decided to go forward with the prescription the first thing I needed was an HIV test because before you can get a prescription for TRUVADA as PrEP your doctor has to provide a negative HIV test.

After this is where the process became more complicated. The biggest reason for all of the hoops is simple, insurance. As I mentioned in my first post, I am currently an unemployed theatre person, I have spent the past two and a half years as a full-time student. Health insurance has been a very minimal expense for me. I have it, but just bare-bones emergency coverage, (one of those plans that is being dropped because of the Affordable Care Act), until I get a job, or win the lottery, or I am forced to change policies, my insurance does not include prescription coverage.  TRUVADA is NOT a cheap prescription, however most plans will cover it. If you do not have prescription coverage there is another option. Gilead provides assistance for PrEP. This was the route I took. After discussing with the pharmacist my options, my doctor directed me to the webstie start.truvada.com. She said there was an agreement form I needed to print out and have us each sign. After some hunting I foundhttp://start.truvada.com/hcp/truvadaprep-resources which had many different forms including the agreement form. I printed it out signed it and delivered it to my doctor.

I assumed this would be the end of it, I could give that signed form and the prescription to the pharmacy and get the meds. WRONG, I then found out I had to call Gilead. 1-855-330-5479 is the number for the Medication Assistance Program. They ask for information about your health Insurance and your income to determine whether you qualify for assistance. They also require a form to be filed out by both you and your physician. That form can be found at http://start.truvada.com/Content/pdf/Medication_Assistance_Program.pdf. So I filled out that form and got it to my doctor, who filled out their part and faxed the form to Gilead. I waited about a week for the confirmation that I qualified for the program for the next six months.  Gilead then placed the order for my prescription with a pharmacy that would ship my medication directly to my doctor's office.

Now for most of you who have prescription coverage on you health insurance, most of these hoops won't be necessary. But if you do not have coverage, there are still options. I hope this was helpful information for some of you. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments about this or anything you would like me to cover in this blog. I love hearing from you all. Have a great day.