AEGiS-08IAC: Assessing the medical care costs of the HIV epidemic in the United States: 1992-1995.

8th International AIDS Conference


Amsterdam, Netherlands — July 19-24, 1992

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Assessing the medical care costs of the HIV epidemic in the United States: 1992-1995.

Int Conf AIDS 1992 Jul 19-24; 8:We50 (abstract no. WeC 1033)
Hellinger FJ; Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, US Dept. of Health and Human Services.

OBJECTIVE: To forecast the cost of treating persons with HIV in the United States from 1992 to 1995.

METHODS: This is the first study to use data from the AIDS Cost and Service Utilization Survey (ACSUS) to estimate the cost of treating persons with HIV. The ACSUS is a comprehensive examination of the services utilized by 2,200 persons with HIV in ten cities. Data from other sources including the California Department of Health Services and the New York State Department of Health also are used. Estimates of the number of persons with AIDS (PWAs) during the years 1992-1995 are derived using data on the number of AIDS cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) between January 1984 and November 1991.

RESULTS: It is approximated that the number of persons with HIV receiving medical care for their illness is evenly divided among three groups: (1) PWAs; (2) those with CD4+ lymphocyte counts below 200 without AIDS; and (3) those with CD4+ lymphocyte counts equal to or greater than 200 without AIDS. It is estimated that the average yearly cost of treating a person in group 1 (a PWA) is $38,300, in group 2 is $13,525, and in group 3 is $6,444. The lifetime cost of treating a PWA is calculated to be $102,000. It is forecast that the national cost of treating all persons with HIV will increase 48 percent from 1992 to 1995 ($10.3 to $15.2 billion). DISCUSSION AND

CONCLUSION: The cost of treating persons with HIV are considerably higher than calculated in recent studies. In particular, early and aggressive treatment has led to significantly higher costs of treatment in the initial stages of HIV disease.

Keywords: AEGIS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Costs and Cost Analysis, HIV Infections, Disease Outbreaks, Community Health Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.), Forecasting, Health Services, CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes, Health Services Research, United States, New York, California, economics, ICA8KWDaegis,acquiredimmunodeficiencysyndrome,costsandcostanalysis,hivinfections,diseaseoutbreaks,communityhealthservices,centersfordiseasecontrolandprevention(uKWDsKWD),forecasting,healthservices,cd4-positivet-lymphocytes,healthservicesresearch,unitedstates,newyork,california,economics,ica8
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WeC1033

Copyright © 1992 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.