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After Lawsuit, Major Insurance Co. Agrees to Cover PrEP Users

PrEP

Mutual of Omaha will no longer deny policies to people using the preventative HIV drug.

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Facing investigations and lawsuits, Mutual of Omaha has agreed to stop denying insurance to Massachusetts residents who use the HIV prevention medication Truvada, commonly used as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis).

The Massachusetts attorney general was investigating the denials and the group GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) had filed a lawsuit against the insurer before the underwriting change was made. Previously, Mutual of Omaha denied life and long-term care insurance to Truvada users.

"Multiple studies have long shown that Truvada is an incredibly effective way to prevent the transmission of HIV and it is standard to offer it to gay men and others at high risk of infection," Kenneth H. Mayer, M.D., medical research director for Boston's Fenway Institute, said in a press release. "Mutual of Omaha's categorical exclusion of Truvada users from life and long-term care insurance was irrational and based on a gross misunderstanding of how HIV gets transmitted."

The Massachusetts attorney general's office confirms Mutual of Omaha "has revised its underwriting practices to ensure that it does not deny, rate, or otherwise take any adverse action against any Massachusetts resident who applies for any type of accident, life, sickness, or health insurance with Mutual of Omaha, including long-term care insurance, based on the applicant's use of Truvada for PrEP."

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Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.
Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.