Health Care Stories: Living to Afford Coverage - the Health Care Catch 22

For the HIV positive Americans that are lucky enough to have health insurance, the costs of necessary and adequate treatment regimes and medications are often still exceedingly high.  Like Phillip, the costs of treatments leave little income left for other necessities such as car payments, utilities and sometimes even food.  People like Phillip need health reform because it would limit out-of-pocket costs to an affordable percentage of income, and provide subsidies to people with limited incomes.  Unless health care reform legislation provides an affordable, high-quality public option for Americans trapped by the costs of private care, we will only be reforming private insurance and not the adequate access Americans need in a healthcare system.

“I have always been in a catch 22:  my job pays for my insurance, but the high co-pays and high deductibles leave me with no money.  I was diagnosed with AIDS in 2003 but because I do work and do have health coverage I pretty much do not qualify for [any government assistance]…If I quit I would be eligible for [assistance] but I…can not get SSI or Medicaid [if I kept working].” 

Phillip, LA 

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*Please note that actual names have been changed to protect individual's confidentiality.  Media interested in interviewing HIV-positive people about health-coverage issues should contact AFC Communications Director Johnathon Briggs at jbriggs@aidschicago or 312-334-0922.