Audio: Missouri Senator to pre-file a Bill he calls the ‘last piece to end the AIDS epidemic’

HIV and AIDS spelled out on dice
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Current Missouri law requires preventative HIV medication to be prescribed by a doctor. Newly-elected Kansas City State Senator Greg Razer plans to pre-file a Bill that would allow pharmacists to give an emergency dose over the counter to those exposed to the virus. Razer calls the bill the last piece to end the AIDS epidemic.

 

 

HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system and leads to a lifetime of medication for those infected. St. Peters Republican Representative Phil Christofanelli plans to pre-file the House version of the bill.

Seventy-two hours is the time it takes for HIV to permanently infect an individual exposed to the virus. Razer says getting a doctor’s prescription and a preventative HIV drug within 72 hours can be difficult. He is proposing to let pharmacists give an emergency dose of the medication over the counter to those exposed to the virus.

 

 

Razer, a Democrat, says allowing pharmacists this option could result in better health outcomes for individuals and save the state money in Medicaid costs. He says medication for those with HIV runs about 10,000 to 15,000 dollars each month.


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