National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day — September 27

PrEP, Prevention and Knowing Your Options

National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day — September 27

National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is an opportunity to remember how profoundly HIV and AIDS have affected generations of gay and bisexual men—and also to recognize how much has changed.

Today, HIV is preventable. It is treatable. And people living with HIV who achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load do not sexually transmit HIV.

One of the most important tools in that progress is PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis: medication taken by someone who does not have HIV to prevent acquiring it.

For our members, we want to make sure you know what is available to you—and where to turn if accessing it becomes more complicated than it should be.

If you have New York City employee health benefits

For our NYPD members and others covered by New York City employee health benefits, there is an important distinction to understand.

If you are enrolled in the New York City Employees PPO (NYCE PPO), PrEP is covered through the base health plan as an Affordable Care Act (ACA) preventive drug benefit.

That matters because many of our members receive their ordinary prescription benefits through a union welfare fund. It would be easy to look at your union drug formulary, not find a particular PrEP medication, and assume it isn’t covered.

Don’t stop there.

NYCE PPO specifically explains that members who receive their regular prescription coverage through a union remain covered for ACA- and New York State-mandated drugs through NYCE PPO. Those drugs are administered through Prime Therapeutics.

The current 2026 NYCE PPO Base Benefit Formulary includes:

• Generic Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) — daily oral PrEP

• Descovy — daily oral PrEP

• Apretude — long-acting injectable PrEP administered every two months

• Yeztugo — a newer long-acting injectable PrEP administered every six months after initiation

The formulary identifies each of these as an ACA-covered drug.

So, if you have NYCE PPO coverage and encounter difficulty getting PrEP covered, do not assume that a rejection by your union prescription plan means you don’t have coverage. Instead, ask that the prescription be processed through your NYCE PPO preventive drug benefit.

NYCE PPO resources:

2026 NYCE PPO Base Benefit Formulary:
https://www.emblemhealth.com/content/dam/emblemhealth/pdfs/resources/cny/nyce-ppo/2026/formularies/ppo-city-of-new-york-base-formulary-2026-emblemhealth.pdf

NYCE PPO member website, plan documents and pharmacy resources:
https://www.nyceppo.com/member

NYCE PPO prescription drug FAQs:
https://public.nyceppo.com/

If you are having difficulty, NYCE PPO Customer Service can also be reached at 212-501-4444.

If you don’t have City health benefits

GOAL’s membership extends well beyond the NYPD, and not everyone reading this has New York City employee health coverage.

Your insurance and benefits may work differently—but uncertainty about coverage shouldn’t be the reason you stop looking into PrEP.

Many providers and programs that regularly prescribe PrEP can help patients navigate insurance coverage, prior authorization, manufacturer assistance programs and other ways of obtaining PrEP affordably. New York City and New York State also maintain programs specifically intended to help people access PrEP.

A good place to start:

NYC PrEP information and resources:
https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/pre-exposure-prophylaxis-prep.page

NYC Sexual Health Clinics:
https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/services/sexual-health-clinics.page

New York State PrEP and PEP resources:
https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/aids/general/prep/

New York State PrEP/PEP Provider Directory:
https://providerdirectory.aidsinstituteny.org/

New York State PrEP Assistance Program (PrEP-AP):
https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/aids/general/prep/prep-ap_provider.htm

PrEP-AP can help eligible uninsured or underinsured New Yorkers with medical and laboratory services associated with PrEP. Participating providers can also help patients navigate medication-assistance programs.

For our New Jersey members

GOAL also represents members working in law enforcement and criminal justice in New Jersey. Your benefits may look different from those available to our New York City members, but the same message applies: don’t assume that difficulty filling a PrEP prescription means you don’t have coverage.

New Jersey requires state-regulated health plans to cover recommended PrEP, including specified oral and injectable options, along with required baseline and monitoring services, without cost-sharing. Members receiving public-employee benefits may also be covered through New Jersey’s State Health Benefits Program (SHBP), which offers several different plans to State and participating local-government employees.

Because the plan covering one New Jersey law-enforcement agency may be different from another, check your particular medical and prescription benefits or ask your PrEP provider for help navigating them.

New Jersey resources:

NJ Department of Health — PrEP Services and Provider Locations:
https://www.nj.gov/health/hiv/services/prep/

NJ HIV/STD Hotline:
1-800-624-2377

NJ State Health Benefits Program:
https://www.nj.gov/treasury/pensions/

New Jersey guidance on insurance coverage for PrEP:
https://www.nj.gov/dobi/bulletins/blt25_01.pdf

Many PrEP providers routinely help patients navigate insurance, coverage and assistance programs.

PrEP isn’t one-size-fits-all

PrEP no longer necessarily means taking a pill every day.

There are daily oral medications and long-acting injectable options. Which one is right for you depends on your health, preferences and circumstances and should be discussed with a health care provider.

You can start with your own physician or seek out a provider experienced in sexual health and HIV prevention. Many dedicated PrEP providers are accustomed to helping patients work through the insurance and access questions along with the medical ones.

Having trouble? Talk to us.

Health insurance is complicated. Prescription benefits are complicated. For some of our members, having medical coverage through the City while receiving prescription benefits through a separate union welfare fund makes navigating the system even less intuitive.

If you’re a GOAL member having trouble accessing PrEP, reach out to us.

Some of us have navigated these systems ourselves. We may be able to help you identify the right benefit, ask the right questions, or connect you with a provider or resource that can help. We can’t replace your doctor or health plan, but you don’t have to figure everything out alone.

And our advocacy doesn’t end with PrEP.

For our members living with HIV

The preventive-coverage protections that make PrEP accessible do not necessarily solve the prescription coverage problems faced by members already living with HIV.

Some of our members receive prescription benefits through union welfare funds whose formularies do not include certain HIV medications or treat them as specialty drugs subject to different coverage requirements.

GOAL continues to work toward full and reliable prescription coverage for our members living with HIV.

Access to the medication someone needs to remain healthy should not depend on which union provides their prescription benefits. As we continue that work, we also want to hear from members who are experiencing difficulty obtaining their HIV medications. Your experiences help us understand where the gaps remain.

Progress worth using

Sexual health is health.

Whether someone is single, dating, married, monogamous, non-monogamous or simply wants greater control over their own health, seeking information about HIV prevention should not require an explanation or an apology.

The Gay Officers Action League encourages our members to know their status, understand the prevention options available to them, and make informed decisions about their health.

The tools available today would have been unimaginable to many of the gay men who lived through the earliest years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Knowing about them is progress. Making sure our members can actually access them is part of our work.