The Affordable Care Act and People Living with HIV/AIDS

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One of the questions I get frequently is “how is the Affordable Care Act (the health care law of 2010) helping people living with HIV/AIDS?” The short answer is: in many ways. The detailed answer is more complex, but also much more exciting.

• Ensuring that AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) benefits are now considered as contributions toward a Medicare beneficiary’s true Out of Pocket Spending Limit for drug coverage, a huge relief for low-income beneficiaries living with HIV and AIDS because it helps them move through the “donut hole” more quickly;

• Improving access to coverage and protecting people with HIV/AIDS now by making available a Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan in every state and making important insurance reforms to protect people from insurance company abuses;

• Offering quality coverage to every person with HIV/AIDS in 2014 and beyond via Medicaid expansion, additional insurance reforms, and closing the “Donut Hole;”

• Ensuring people have quality care, good insurance coverage, and the information they need to find it; and

• Increasing opportunities for health, well-being, and cultural competency.

Learn more details in the fact sheet (PDF 33KB) about what the health care law does to help people with HIV/AIDS.