A Win for PrEP/PEP Access!

During this past session of the California Legislature, SFCHC supported Senator Scott Wiener’s Senate Bill (SB) 339 to expand access for both preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) by way of increasing the amount of medication that pharmacies are able to furnish at one given time—including language to help cover costs of services incurred by pharmacies.

 Staff across our clinical & policy/advocacy team submitted a position letter on behalf of SFCHC to contribute to the legislative analysis in committee. And when the bill was subject to unfortunate poison pill amendments that would have worked against improving access, SFCHC joined partners statewide in the fall of 2023 to call for a “clean” bill.

In the last two weeks, Senator Wiener was able to move SB 339 as intended to passage through both chambers and was recently signed into law by Governor Newsom. We thank Senator Wiener for his tireless advocacy around HIV prevention and treatment and Governor Newsom for taking this important win in expanding access to PrEP/PEP over the finish line.