Georgia residents may soon be able to access HIV prevention medicine at their local pharmacy if a bipartisan push from state lawmakers to make the drugs faster and easier to access is successful.
Senate Bill 195, which was introduced by Rome Republican Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, would allow pharmacists to both prescribe and administer medication, known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), that can help reduce the likelihood of acquiring HIV. It passed the House on Thursday in a 155-7 vote, and now heads back to the Senate for further debate.
HIV is the virus that, left untreated, leads to AIDS. According to 2024 data from the nonpartisan health research and policy institute KFF, Georgia’s rate of HIV diagnoses was twice that of the national rate, and second only to the District of Columbia.
Should the bill be signed into law, patients seeking the medication will no longer need to worry about finding a primary care provider who can prescribe the medication, which can sometimes create barriers to access.
State Rep. Karla Drenner, an Avondale Estates Democrat, urged her House colleagues to pass the bill, arguing that it will help Georgians in both rural and urban areas gain access to lifesaving medication.