United Healthcare Changes Their Tune on PrEP

In a pre-authorization denial letter to a gay patient seeking Truvada as PrEP, revealed last week, United Healthcare cited “high risk homosexual behavior” as their reason for denying his claim — because we all know PrEP is meant for people who are not at risk for HIV infection, right? 

The letter from United Healthcare referred to their authorization as a means “to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV-1 infection in adults at high risk.” In other words: Adults at high risk are okay, but homosexual behavior crosses the line.

Even though the United Healthcare Truvada criteria document from 2013 didn't mention sexuality of the person they denied, The AIDS Institute reports that the United Healthcare has done a quick turnaround and issued the following statement:  

"United Healthcare has released updated information about its coverage of Truvada for PrEP and its recent communication with members: We apologize for the insensitive language appearing in the letter and regret any difficulty it caused. We have corrected our letters, removed the prior authorization requirement for Truvada and members can fill their prescription at the network pharmacy of their choice."