What Health Reform Means for AIDS

Coming up to the home stretch of the semester, things are getting crazy. While classes like physics and statistics torture my mind, I appreciate the knowledge that I have taken from this HIV course. Unlike physics which some people argue is quite handy, I find the information I've taken from this class to be more so of a life skill. While I doubt I will ever really care about the force a raindrop has on your head (which I might add would go right through your head without air resistance) or the frictional force of your car tires on the road, I will care about and use the facts about HIV on a weekly basis at the very least. It has given me so much more than that. It has provided me with the knowledge to protect myself and taught me about a virus that is taking hold of the whole world.

Did You Know...???

In the past month with the health reform fighting its way through Congress, the new implements make way for a change for those with HIV.

1. All Americans must buy health insurance. This means that the government is required to provide subsidies for those too poor to afford the coverage.

2. Bans insurance companies from terminating coverage on people with "pre-existing conditions". This means people with HIV cannot have their coverage terminated because of their health concerns.

3. The reform prohibits a life time cap on the coverage provided within a person's lifetime. This is especially good for people with chronic illness' (i.e HIV)

4. It expands coverage of Medicaid/Medicare to people with income below poverty line. These adults compromise of 37% of uninsured people in America (many of which are HIV+). (Expanding Medicaid)

Reference List:

-Web: The Black AIDS Institute Applauds Congress' Passage of Historic Health Care Reform Bill. March 22, 2010. The Body.com. Retrieved 4/6/10 from, http://www.thebody.com/content/policy/art56015.html.

-Web: Expanding Medicaid: Coverage for Low Income Adults Under Health Reform. Feb 22, 2010. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved 4/6/10 from, http://www.kff.org/healthreform/8052.cfm.