Experts Fear a 'Temptation to Undertreat'

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1993. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Experts Fear a 'Temptation to Undertreat'

USA Today (10/18/93) P. 10A (Price, Richard)

While the chair of the American Foundation on AIDS Research board supports President Clinton's health plan, she has concerns about the treatment of terminally ill patients under the plan. "There is an incentive to avoid excessive expense," says Mathilde Krim, "and for people who have a disease that is considered incurable, the temptation will be to undertreat .... Physicians may well adopt the attitude that treatment of people with conditions like this is a waste of money." Krim and other experts have a bevy of other concerns, including the lack of details for home care and long-term care and the lack of discussion about the coverage of "off-label uses" of prescription drugs--that is, treating patients with drugs intended for other conditions. Experts also fear that Congress may cut AIDS programs, such as the Ryan White Care Act, in order to balance the budget. The fact that the plan would subsidize premiums for low-income people, but not for co -payments on drugs and treatment is another aspect to which experts take issue. Finally, say experts, undocumented immigrants, who include many high-risk groups in big cities, would not be covered except for emergency-room care.

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