HMO, insurance policies threaten HIV care: interview with Dr. X. Interview by John S. James.
Many health plans use various means to discourage HIV specialty care--even though such care clearly benefits patients, and costs less, compared to non-specialist care--in order to avoid attracting expensive patients into their plans. This problem is much worse in HIV than in cancer and other catastrophic illnesses with more established specialties. AIDS Treatment News interviewed an AIDS doctor who provides details--but who must remain anonymous to avoid retaliation by some of the health plans.
D000328:Adult; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000628:therapy*; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D016134:Organizational Policy; D011287:Prejudice; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms