HIV medication co-payment waiver
Queensland Health has announced their commitment to achieving virtual elimination of HIV transmission by 2030, in support of the UNAIDS HIV targets. UNAIDS is a United Nations global HIV/AIDS program that brings together organisations (including WHO, World Bank, World Food Programme and others) to address health issues for people living with and affected by HIV.
The UNAIDS 2025 targets of 95-95-95 aim to achieve 95% of people with HIV knowing their status, 95% of people with HIV initiating antiretroviral therapy and 95% of people on treatment achieving an undetectable viral load.
The World Health Organization (WHO) released a policy brief, The role of HIV viral suppression in improving individual health and reducing transmission, at IAS 2023, the 12th IAS Conference on HIV Science, in Brisbane. The brief says:
According to WHO, people living with HIV who have an undetectable viral load using any WHO-approved test and continue taking medication as prescribed have “zero risk” of transmitting HIV to their sexual partner(s).
People living with HIV who have a suppressed but detectable viral load and are taking medication as prescribed have “almost zero or negligible risk” of transmitting HIV to their sexual partner(s).
The “zero risk” brief is based on a 2023 Lancet systematic review: The risk of sexual transmission of HIV in individuals with low-level HIV viraemia.
For community pharmacies who need further information about co-payment reimbursement, please refer to the Pharmacy Guild link below.
Pharmacies must receive consent from the patient to claim the co-payment on their behalf, a consent form can be found at this website.
QLD s100 HIV Patient Co-Payment Program - The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
The UNAIDS 2025 targets of 95-95-95 aim to achieve 95% of people with HIV knowing their status, 95% of people with HIV initiating antiretroviral therapy and 95% of people on treatment achieving an undetectable viral load.
The World Health Organization (WHO) released a policy brief, The role of HIV viral suppression in improving individual health and reducing transmission, at IAS 2023, the 12th IAS Conference on HIV Science, in Brisbane. The brief says:
According to WHO, people living with HIV who have an undetectable viral load using any WHO-approved test and continue taking medication as prescribed have “zero risk” of transmitting HIV to their sexual partner(s).
People living with HIV who have a suppressed but detectable viral load and are taking medication as prescribed have “almost zero or negligible risk” of transmitting HIV to their sexual partner(s).
The “zero risk” brief is based on a 2023 Lancet systematic review: The risk of sexual transmission of HIV in individuals with low-level HIV viraemia.
For community pharmacies who need further information about co-payment reimbursement, please refer to the Pharmacy Guild link below.
Pharmacies must receive consent from the patient to claim the co-payment on their behalf, a consent form can be found at this website.
QLD s100 HIV Patient Co-Payment Program - The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
