Globally, HIV/AIDS has infected about 40 million people, with over one million of the cases being from the United States. From the diagnosis of HIV until death the most accurate estimate of medical care costs is $119,000 per person. These costs hinder anyone’s ability to pay for these life-prolonging medications without the help of Medicaid, especially low-income individuals, many of which are uninsured or underinsured. We are proposing that Congress pass legislation to offer coverage through Medicaid to individuals living with HIV.
The greatest obstacle for those living with HIV is meeting Medicaid’s prerequisites regarding eligibility. Medicaid requires a disability diagnosis; therefore HIV infected individuals can not receive the benefits offered through Medicaid until they have a confirmed AIDS diagnosis. Since the cost of combination drug therapy known as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is $12,000 or more per year, treatment is often unavailable to many HIV patients in the United States. This treatment would normally help to prevent the decline of the immune system. Without any treatment, the chance of developing an opportunistic infection, which often times leads to the diagnosis of AIDS, would increase. By the time an individual qualifies for Medicaid, the prognosis of the disease has often times become too detrimental to benefit from current treatments offered or provided through Medicaid.
Although there would be an additional federal expense, the benefits would exceed the costs. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have calculated that expanding Medicaid coverage to low-income individuals with HIV prior to disability would amount to an additional federal expense of $393 million over a five-year period. Within in this five-year period, 18,000 more individuals would qualify for HIV treatment. When compared to the annual costs to treat an individual with advanced AIDS, HAART is much more cost-effective at $12,000 a year per person. Early treatment would not only save money, but it would prolong as well as increase the quality of life for HIV/AIDS patients. Individuals would be more likely to perform the daily duties they were able to prior to diagnosis, such as working.
Our proposal is important because HIV/AIDS affects so many people worldwide. Giving individuals Medicaid in an earlier stage extends and improves life which a dollar amount cannot be attributed to. The surrounding individual’s quality of life would also increase. With Medicaid covering the large medical expenses that comes with having HIV/AIDS, families are not put in a financial bind in order to support the HIV/AIDS individual.
References
(2003). Early Treatment for HIV Act. Retrieved April 1, 2009, from Until It's Over AIDS Action Web site: http://www.aidsaction.org/communications/publications/ETHA_facts.pdf
(August 2008). HIV/AIDS in the United States. Retrieved April 1, 2009, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/Factsheets/us.htm
Obama-Biden. (2008). Barack Obama: Fighting HIV/AIDS Worldwide. Retrieved April 3, 2009. From http://nationalaidsstrategy.org/OBAMAFactSheetAIDS.pdf
Shi, L., & Singh, D. (2008). Delivering Health Care in America: A Systems Approach (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, HIV/AIDS. Retrieved March 18, 2009, from AIDS.gov Web site: http://www.aids.gov/
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As a person living with HIV money is very tight in my family. The treatments I receive to stop the decline of my immune system exceeds tens of thousands dollars a year with very weak insurance. Without these treatments my doctors and myself believe I would have died many years ago. By receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy I have added years onto my life but at a very very high price. I am able to function at a very normal level with no one knowing of my disease. I work fulltime and have very busy family life; my disease has not hindered my ability to live because of the treatments I receive. I am thankful for the insurance that I do have which covers some of the costs but the offset is still extremely high.
ReplyDeleteI believe this reform proposal could not only help people with HIV but also their families. It is a giant financial barrier to my family but I can only imagine other families with no insurance. By paying or helping to pay for treatments for HIV the country would be saving money. HIV treatment is expensive but it does not compare to AIDs treatment. Having a husband who has died of AIDs I fully understand the costs associated with care of an AIDs patient. Primary care will lead to healthier people, healthier normal lives. Many people look down on people with HIV/AIDs and that is fine but many people do not realize that this affects their family also. If a mother is not capable to function, her children also suffer. This is a worldwide epidemic, a worldwide disease that has no cure. It is an issue and there needs to be reforms such as these that can help the many many people who cannot help themselves.