Expanding public
insurance coverage
of HIV-positive people could cut AIDS-related deaths by as much as 66%,
according to a study published in the November issue of the Journal of
Health Economics, according to a Stanford University release.
Researchers
from Stanford's Center for
Health
Policy/Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research and the RAND
Corp. used data from the HIV Costs and Services Utilization Study,
a large national survey conducted by the federal government that
collected
information on a random sample of nearly 2,500 people treated for HIV
between
1996 and 1999. After adjusting for the severity of patients' illnesses,
the researchers found that the mortality rate for publicly insured
HIV-positive
people is 66% lower than the mortality rate for uninsured HIV-positive
people. According to the release, expanding public-insurance coverage
for
HIV/AIDS patients therefore could increase by 66% the number of
HIV/AIDS
patients who survive in a given year. The researchers also found that
public
insurance is 20% less effective than private insurance in preventing
AIDS-related
deaths. In addition, the study found that the mortality rates among
publicly
insured HIV/AIDS patients in states with less restrictive eligibility
for
Medicaid programs were "significantly lower" than in states with more
restrictive
eligibility requirements, according to the release. The researchers
said
that the eligibility requirements of many states' Medicaid programs
"effectively
force HIV/AIDS patients to get very sick, or very poor, or both, before
they [qualify] for coverage," according to the release (Stanford
release,
12/19).
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