Wissenschaftliche Beiträge Health Law

Reimbursement of HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis by health insurance

Is Switzerland finally PrEPared?

Félix Delerm

Dylan Hofmann

Citation: Félix Delerm / Dylan Hofmann, Reimbursement of HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis by health insurance, in: Jusletter 1183

On 29 November 2023, Switzerland’s Federal Department of Home Affairs decided that pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV (PrEP) for people at increased risk will be covered by the compulsory health insurance from 1 July 2024. This paper examines the legal framework of PrEP reimbursement and explores its implications for public health. Improving access to and uptake of PrEP is a step forward for prevention, but questions and challenges remain, particularly around perceptions of risk and potential stigma. To our knowledge, this paper is the first critical legal review of the public health policy on PrEP in Switzerland.

Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. HIV in Switzerland: Public health context and the growing relevance of PrEP
- 2.1. Prevalence of HIV and prevention legal framework
- 2.2. Evolution of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis access and uptake
3. PrEP covered by compulsory insurance: a significant milestone
- 3.1. Introduction to the Swiss compulsory health insurance
- 3.2. Legal framework of PrEP reimbursement
4. Incremental progress in HIV prevention: Remaining issues and the path forward for a less stigmatizing approach
- 4.1. Better policies: Reimbursing prevention
- 4.2. Pre and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis in perspective
- 4.3. FOPH HIV risk analysis: from behaviour to specific groups
- 4.4. Sex moralisation against public health progress
5. Conclusion