Charges and charge coverage in the treatment of HIV/AIDS patients in a rural southern state

In Mississippi it was not known where Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or Acquired Immunodeficiency Disease Syndrome (AIDS) persons receive care, what type of care is available to them, and how care is financed. To ascertain inpatient treatment charges of HIV/AIDS patients, a medical record review was conducted at 10 priority hospitals distributed across Mississippi. One-hundred fifty-six (156) patient records were randomly selected from a population of persons with HIV/AIDS. A total of 3,865 patient days was recorded for all hospitals. Available overall hospital charges per paid day ranged from +401.63 to +1,261.34, with an average charge of +741.65 per day. Average length of stay was 25 days. Average charge per hospitalization per patient totaled +18,541. Concerning source of payment, 44.8% of the patients had private insurance, 29.9% listed Medicaid as their payment source, 7.8% were on Medicare, 1.3% had supplemental insurance, and 16.2% of patients reviewed had no payment source. Based on this review, it is evident that the number of AIDS patients covered by private health insurance will continue to decline and the payment responsibilities will continue to shift to public supported programs. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome brings attention to the weakness of Mississippi's health care financing system and will continue to force consideration of alternative financing mechanisms.