Pre existing condition health insurance reduces HIV drug wait list

health insurance drug Coverage

Drug Coverage

Plan cuts the waiting time significantly.

Georgia’s wait list statistics in January was the longest in the country for individuals who needed government pre existing condition health insurance drug assistance for HIV.

Back then, there were 1,348 people in the state who wanted to enroll in the AIDS Drug Assistance Program.

Today, despite the fact that less than six months have passed, the wait list for ADAP has been reduced to about a third of its previous length, at 490 people (as of June 7, 2012). The program is designed to provide low or moderate income individuals who are without medical coverage and who are infected with the HIV virus, with assistance. Drug treatment is very important for this individuals, as it is a vital part of the prevention of the development of AIDS.

The decrease in the number of people waiting to take part in the program is the result of a pre existing condition health insurance plan in the state, which is one of the most recently implemented provisions of the health reform law of 2012. This helps individuals who had previously been considered uninsurable due to previously diagnosed medical problems to be able to find affordable coverage.

Still, Georgia remains second highest in terms of the length of the wait list, behind the 599 people in Virginia.

Last week, the Georgia Department of Public Health stated that from the end of April, 350 clients of ADAP had electronically enrolled in the state’s Pre-Existing Condition Plan, and that they had almost finished the various stages of the enrollment process.

According to a spokesperson for Public Health, Ryan Deal, at the moment, there are 29 people who have completed the process and who will now be saving the state around $46,500, while they are still able to obtain a higher level of medical care.

Deal also stated that the ADAP eligibility requirements will soon be changing, so that more people will qualify for the program. The majority of the people who are currently waiting to enroll are already receiving help through assistance programs at pharmaceutical companies that are designed for patients with low incomes. However, advocacy groups still say that many individuals have fallen through the cracks.

The hope is that pre existing condition health insurance will help to fill that gap.

Other related article(s) and resources:

http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2012/06/insurance-plan-cuts-waiting-list-for-hiv-drugs/

 

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