Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
 |
San Francisco Examiner - September 10, 2002
Early treatments are much cheaper and often so effective that folks can go back to work or continue to work longer, their taxes paying into the system that later can help them and others.
Changing the rules has been a bear, though. Four years after it was first introduced, a bill finally sits on Gov. Davis' desk. He should click that pen open and sign it, posthaste.
Under AB 2197, HIV-positive people could get tests and drugs through Medi-Cal whatever stage of the disease they were in. And it shouldn't cost taxpayers any more than we pay now.
How? The bill promises to pay for itself through encouraging those already disabled by AIDS to voluntarily switch from fee-for-service to managed care plans. If they did, the state would spend the money extending care; if not, not.
It was this "revenue neutral by 2007" clause that helped the bill pass through the Legislature in this tight-money year, and it is a good model of how we could structure other such experiments in the future.
It also is the right thing to do. We shouldn't force our brothers and sisters to get really sick before we help them when we know that HIV infection is a predictor of AIDS. After all, we don't wait for cancer to completely gut people's organs before we let them start treatment.
Backers estimate that 10,000 people, many black, Latino and other minorities, currently need such comprehensive healthcare. They are the ones who have fallen through the safety nets, the Catch-22 of state and federal medical policies.
Kudos to junior Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, for his tenacity in keeping this bill in the action pile, and to his bretheren for seeing the light.
Davis has until the end of the month to sign AB 2197. There's no reason to wait.
020910
SE020901
Copyright © 2002 - San Francisco Examiner. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the San Francisco Examiner, Permissions Desk, 110 Fifth Street, P.O. Box 7260, San Franciso, CA 94120.
AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, iMetrikus, Inc., John M. Lloyd Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2002. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2002. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .