Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - Monday, April 5, 1999
The National Association of People with AIDS says Texas may no longer use a loophole in the Social Security Act that denied reimbursement on grounds that Serostim is a cosmetic drug.
Wasting is destructive metobolic process that uses an AIDS victim's own tissues, muscles and organs to feed the body's energy demands. It is a major contributing factor in the high mortality rate among AIDS patients.
The HCFA, which is responsible for administering Medicaid policy, had previously stated that Serostim could be considered a drug for cosmetic weight gain, giving states the option of refusing Medicaid coverage of Serostim for AIDS wasting. Texas based its refusal on a loophole in the Social Security Act that denies reimbursement for drugs with primarily "cosmetic" outcomes.
Cornelius Baker, executive director of the National Association of People with AIDS, says the decision was "an insult to the people with AIDS that could have led to hundreds of needless deaths."
Dr. Nancy Erickson of the Texas HIV Medication Advisory Committee says Serostim can reverse the metabolic derangement that causes AIDS wasting, and that "no one knowledgeable about this aspect of the disease could consider a drug like Serostim to be merely cosmetic."
The HCFA changed is policy on Serostim in February, following a letter from the Food and Drug Administration that the drug is a theraputic product. The mandate became effective today.
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