Gilead Announces Additional Updates to The Advancing ACCESS® Patient Assistance/Medication Assistance Program

Foster City, Calif., April 9, 2021 – Gilead Sciences is firmly committed to working with community organizations to accomplish our shared goal of ending the HIV epidemic. Following feedback from providers and community advocates on updates to the Advancing Access^® Patient Assistance/Medication Assistance Program (PAP/MAP), which provides free medicine to eligible uninsured individuals in the U.S., Gilead has decided to postpone changes to the program until January 1, 2022. This approach aligns the program update with many organizations’ annual planning cycles and the open enrollment period under public insurance programs, allowing additional time for transition. To ensure the sustainability of PAP/MAP, there will be no further delays to the update in the program model.   

Our conversations with community partners have highlighted a number of systemic challenges in the U.S. healthcare system, including the need for greater state and federal funding for services that provide comprehensive HIV and preventative care to those who need it. These challenges exacerbate inequities faced by communities in regions hardest hit by the epidemic, such as the U.S. South.  

In response to these issues, we will consult and collaborate with policy experts and community representatives to identify how Gilead can help address these systemic barriers and further elevate HIV as a public health priority. As we advance long-term strategies, Gilead will engage and work together with the HIV community to urgently identify potential funding to help address current gaps in HIV public health efforts, particularly in regions hardest hit in the U.S. We are committed to continued collaboration with our partners to realize sustainable public and private solutions to best meet the needs of the populations we serve.

These efforts will work in parallel with Gilead’s PAP/MAP and Gilead’s numerous corporate giving initiatives to help reduce health disparities among disproportionately impacted communities. Gilead also continues to strongly support the 340B Drug Pricing Program as another important way to reach underserved individuals.

Addressing the challenges people and communities face in accessing the best possible care will require unparalleled collaboration between industry, government and community. We heard our community partners when they said there is still work to be done to ensure vulnerable populations are not left to bear the brunt of a flawed system. We will continue to advocate for all people living with and at risk for HIV, as well as the networks of providers who care for them.