HIV care bills sent to CA Governor Newsom

As AIDS advocates fight funding cuts and various policy decisions by the Trump administration, California lawmakers have passed several bills aimed at improving HIV care and prevention in the Golden State. Governor Gavin Newsom will have until October 12 to either sign them into law or veto them.

Assembly Bill 554 authored by gay Assemblymember Mark González (D-Los Angeles) would prevent health care plans and insurance companies from requiring prior authorization or step therapy for antiretroviral drugs, devices, or products that are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for PrEP, or preexposure prophylaxis, and PEP, or postexposure prophylaxis, both of which prevent the transmission of HIV. The bill is known as the PrEPARE Act of 2025, the acronym standing for the Protecting Rights, Expanding Prevention, and Advancing Reimbursement for Equity.

It would require a health care service plan to cover the HIV preventative drugs furnished by a pharmacist, including the pharmacist’s services and related testing ordered by the pharmacist. It would cover both pharmacists at in-network pharmacies and pharmacists at out-of-network pharmacies if the health care service plan has an out-of-network pharmacy benefit or in cases of a medical emergency.

It cleared the state Senate September 9 on a 31-0 vote with nine abstentions, while the Assembly adopted it Wednesday 69-1 with 10 abstentions. The lower chamber did so due to several amendments made to AB 554 since it first passed it, such as the removal of a clause pushing back the implementation of the bill for individual and small group health care service plan contracts or health insurance policies until January 1, 2027.

AB 554 would take effect at the start of 2026 should Newsom sign it. It would not apply to Medi-Cal managed care plans.

“Amid the chaos and attacks on healthcare access from the federal administration, California must take bold steps to safeguard and expand lifesaving HIV prevention,” González had argued in pushing for passage of the bill.

 
AB 309 authored by gay Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood) deletes the pending January 1, 2026 repeal date of state laws that give pharmacists the discretion to furnish sterile syringes to people age 18 and up and that allow adults to possess syringes for personal use without a prescription. Local governments since 2004 were given permission by the state to authorize pharmacies to sell syringes to adults as a measure to halt the spread of HIV, viral hepatitis, and other bloodborne pathogens due to dirty needles shared by injection drug users.

Should Newsom sign AB 309 into law, those rules would be extended indefinitely. It had cleared the Assembly in May, and the Senate passed it September 3 on a 28-11 vote with one abstention.

Senate Bill 278 by gay state Senator Christopher Cabaldon (D-Yolo) would allow the disclosure of the health records of people living with HIV or AIDS to the state’s Medi-Cal program in order to improve the care they are receiving. It would also allow the disclosure of HIV test results for the purpose of administering quality improvement programs under Medi-Cal.

It cleared the Assembly September 8 on a 79-0 vote with one abstention. The Senate passed it the next day 40-0.

Two bills authored by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) aim to rein in the costs of prescription drugs after his previous legislative efforts to do so had stalled. His SB 40 would cap monthly co-pays for insulin at $35.

It passed out of the Senate with a unanimous vote Tuesday; the Assembly had adopted it 79-0 on September 3.

“This bill ensures no family will be forced to choose between buying insulin and putting food on the table in California again,” stated Wiener.

His SB 41 would impose new regulations on pharmacy benefit managers, such as prohibiting them from steering patients to affiliated pharmacies and instead allowing patients to choose the in-network pharmacy that best meets their needs. Known as PBMs, the businesses would need to be licensed through the California Department of Insurance and follow new rules limiting how they charge fees and impose greater transparency on their pricing.

The Senate passed it unanimously September 10, a day after the Assembly had adopted it 69-2 with nine abstentions.

“When mega corporations abuse their power to rip off patients who rely on lifesaving drugs, we need to crack down on them,” stated Wiener. “The PBM licensing framework put in place in the budget this year is a critical tool to hold PBMs accountable, but without strong rules against abusive behavior, PBMs will still have wide latitude to abuse their immense market power. This is a critical step to containing healthcare costs in California, and I have faith the Governor will stand up to the giant corporations ripping off California patients.”

Legislators have until Friday to send bills to the governor before the end of their current sessions.