HIV is undoubtedly an expensive infection to treat. According to Avert, a single HIV medicine may cost up to 1500 dollars per month. The situation becomes even worse when distinct HIV therapy is prescribed along with the medications. And unfortunately, the treatment options mostly involve this combination of anti-viral therapy and medications.
HIV positive people who have insurance somehow manage the expenses. But it becomes really challenging and daunting for those HIV positive individuals, who don’t have any health insurance. The good thing is seeking financial help to pay for required HIV/AIDS medicine access and HIV treatment is comparatively easy. Here are some tips that HIV positive people without having health insurance may follow to get required funds to bear the expenses for their treatment.
Consult the doctor – At the outset, they need to consult their physician or contact local office of state health department and ask for contact information for organizations that serve HIV positive people and AIDS patients in their locality. There may be more than one AIDS Service Organization (ASO) in a given area offering different wellness programs. Therefore, HIV positive people must collect contact information for all of them.
Contact local ASO – As the next step, they need to contact local ASOs that they were provided information for. They are very likely to give the HIV positive people appointment to talk to social workers, care coordinators or any other individuals. The individuals will match them up with local as well as federal programs for HIV positive and AIDS patients so that they get necessary care.
Get information about the expenses – People with HIV positive should ask the coordinator about how they can get financial aid for HIV medications and treatment. The coordinators will provide information on respective state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) and get the patients’ names on ADAP waiting list.
Fill out the form – The patients should fill out the ADAP form by providing genuine information. Depending on the place of living, they are required to provide financial information so that they get assistance for covering HIV treatment costs.
Stay connected with the coordinator – The HIV positive patients must be in touch with their coordinators to find out their status on ADAP waiting list. If possible, they may be referred to additional state and also national HIV/AIDS assistance and wellness programs, cost assistance programs and research programs offered by different drug manufacturers.
These are some of the basic steps that the HIV positive people with no health insurance should follow in order to ensure getting financial aid to treat their condition.
Information technology (IT) organizations also play a very important role in nationwide battle against HIV and AIDS. Many IT firms help the HIV victims by providing grants and some of them are,
• The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – This private foundation provides grants to non-profit organizations with 501 (c) (3) status which improve awareness and information about HIV and AIDS.
• The Peace Packs Program – Partnered with Time Warner and AOL, Peace Corps offers small financial aid to the individual volunteers of Peach Corps.
Adherence to HIV medicines is a must because skipped doses may lead to viral resistance and thus fatal health issues. So, HIV positive people should take medicines regularly and properly.
Author’s Bio – Jane is a veteran health blogger who mainly writes on HIV/AIDS treatment. Her write-ups include issues like HIV/AIDS medicine access, HIV therapy etc.
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