HIV and AIDS cure or prevention is quite expensive for an individual person to shoulder alone. That is why in the United States a law was passed to help HIV patients with the burden, but such help may soon be stopped due to potential repeal.
The Affordable Care Act or Obamacare that was passed during the term of U.S. President Barrack Obama is being threatened by some lawmakers wanting to repeal the law. If such repeal would be realized, the law that brought health insurance coverage to millions of Americans will be delayed. Thus, causing disruption to the services and treatment of many people, including those living with HIV.
The repeal and delay for replacement of the law will surely have a significant effect to those individuals with HIV. HIV experts believe that such repeal and delay of the care covered by insurance will jeopardize and increase the risk of HIV transmission, according to Huffington Post.
"The evidence is iron-clad that when people with HIV are treated and their viral load is suppressed, their likelihood of transmitting HIV goes down to almost zero. So, any kind of interruption in care is going to result in more cases of HIV," Huffington Post quoted John Peller of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago as saying.
Policy experts feared that any delay to an Obamacare replacement may give insurance companies a hard time committing into the market. They may not be able to properly provide services in consonance with the Obamacare individual insurance plans.
Prior to the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, many persons with HIV/ AIDS were having a hard time to purchase health insurance. Living with a chronic condition is one of the factors that would deny an individual of any insurance policy, according to Health Insurance.
With the aid of the Obamacare, many opportunities were given to individuals afflicted with HIV/AIDS. One of the significant impact of the law was that HIV positive individuals need not to worry about pre-existing condition, for ACA created the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan.
Watch here below updates on current HIV and AIDS cure: