How to start PrEP in Iowa
PrEP is medicine, pills or shots, that greatly reduces your chance of getting HIV from sex or injection drug use, CDC says. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that clinicians prescribe it to people at increased risk. Under the Affordable Care Act, almost all health plans must cover PrEP with no charge for the medicine, clinic visits or lab tests; people without insurance can ask about the drug makers' assistance programs. CDC: PrEP.
For help in your state: Iowa's HIV program.
For Black families in Iowa
3,480 people were living with diagnosed HIV in Iowa at the end of 2024, and 29% of people 13 and older newly diagnosed that year were Black (our arithmetic from CDC's counts), according to CDC's provisional 2024 data.
The Project at Primary Health Care. The Project at Primary Health Care, at 1200 University Ave. in Des Moines, offers free, confidential HIV and STI testing, HIV medical and dental care, behavioral health support, and case management in one place. It is one of the agencies Iowa HHS funds to deliver Ryan White Part B services. Call (515) 248-1595.
University of Iowa Health Care Virology Clinic. The Virology Clinic at University of Iowa Health Care in Iowa City provides primary HIV medical care, medication and adherence counseling, psychiatry services, specialty pharmacy, and help with Ryan White funds and HOPWA housing services. It also runs a satellite clinic in Waterloo, and Ryan White case management is offered through River Hills Community Health Center in Ottumwa. Appointments: 1-319-356-8133.
Named HIV testing + PrEP sites in Iowa
Where to get help in Iowa
- Find HIV testing near you (CDC)
- Iowa HIV program
- Community health centers in Iowa: /clinics/ia/
- Medicaid in Iowa: /medicaid/iowa/
- Health profile for Black residents of Iowa: /health/iowa/
More Iowa HIV care
Get care in Iowa
Reading about PrEP is the first step. These are the places in Iowa that actually test, prescribe, and cover it.