In addition, the KFF brief found that 90% of people served by these programs were cisgender gay and bisexual men, and between 23% and 55% were people of color. A few programs actively helped clients determine their eligibility for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
Three national programs with no brick-and-mortar clinics also charged fees, including one that took no insurance and charged up to $100 per month, depending on the labs ordered that month. Two programs provided through clinics charged uninsured patients, including one that charged $30 per visit. Of those, clinic-based and online-only tele-PrEP programs charged fees. The interviewees represented five national for-profit telehealth companies, state tele-PrEP programs in California and Iowa, a laboratory that processes home tests and four hospital-based tele-PrEP programs. It was conducted before the Food and Drug Administration approved Apretude, the new every-other-month HIV prevention shot. The KFF analysis is based on interviews with 12 tele-PrEP providers who offer access to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (Truvada and generic equivalents) or tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine (Descovy) PrEP pills. The analysis comes on the heels of the Department of Health and Human Services releasing best practices guidelines for HIV telehealth care in April, which include specific guidance related to telehealth for HIV prevention. But a new analysis find that more than half of private companies providing telehealth services to connect people with pre- exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) may be charging a fee for their services, according to a brief issued by Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). HIV prevention pills are supposed to be free.