The Social Costs of the AIDS Epidemic

Ten years ago, few people had any idea that this health problem even existed. Today, public concern is high, with behavioral changes urged and undertaken, medical costs increasing, public health organizations geared to offer advice and assistance, research funded, and thousands of sufferers dying or dead from the disease. AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, is not merely another public health challenge; it may be the public health challenge of the coming decade and beyond. The issue links up with a variety of other public health concerns, including drug abuse, the spread of venereal disease, and even the resurgence in cases of tuberculosis, a resurgence that has been linked to the spread of AIDS. AIDS is at present the number one priority of the Public Health Service. It affects the lives not only of those afflicted but the lives of their families, friends, and millions of

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lawsuits that have deterred some insurers from such practices, but most companies are allowed to test for HIV and can then exclude people who are positive on the ground that they have a pre-existing condition. Many state insurance departments prohibit or discourage such exclusions or the placing of caps on AIDS coverage, but self-insured companies are usually exempt from these regulations (p. 582). Much of the concern over costs is because of the number of cases rather than because of the cost of an individual case. Woolsey (1991) notes that although treatment costs for an AIDS patient can be as high as $100,000, most cases can be held to $30,000 to $60,000 with good case management. Treating employees with AIDS can be less expensive than transplants of vital organs (pp. 87-88). Sullivan (1991) states that the cost of AIDS is usually estimated in lives and that there had been over 95,000 deaths out of 152,000 reported cases by October 1990, costing the insurance industry $2.38 billion since 1986. However, though the number of cases was expected to increase, it was also believed that the impact on the insurance industry would not be as great as had previously been anticipated. One reason given for this was the fact that the i
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Approximate Word count = 4193
Approximate Pages = 17 (250 words per page)

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