Health Insurance for People With HIV

People living with HIV face many challenges in obtaining and keeping health insurance. Although it is illegal to cancel health insurance because of an HIV diagnosis, it is not illegal to turn down people for insurance who are HIV-positive, and insurance companies avoid paying for HIV-related health services.

Testing

According to the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), HIV testing centers are required to report results of the test to your insurer if you use your insurance to cover the price of the test. This is the point of first disclosure to the insurer.

New Insurance

Almost all insurers automatically turn down applications for new insurance to cover people with HIV, though this trend may be changing as drug therapy helps HIV-positive people live longer and healthier, Insure.com reports.

Disclosure

It is important to note that there are stiff penalties for defrauding an insurance company. No person should lie about her HIV status when applying for insurance.

Insurer Tactics

Insurers use capitation (per-person) instead of per-service payment systems in order to avoid high costs associated with HIV-disease, according to AIDS.org. This encourages fewer doctors to provide services to HIV-positive people, meaning it is more difficult for these people to get care.

Impact

According to a paper by S.L. Bernell and J.A. Shinogle of the Department of Public Health at Oregon State University, insured people are much more likely to have access to HAART, the multi-drug therapy used to treat HIV. Without insurance, most people have no accss to HAART.

References

• GMHC testing info
• Insure.com
• AIDS.org