Self-Insured health care plans: are they fair to employees with HIV/AIDS?

A literature search reveals a number of instances where people with AIDS (PWAs) have limits placed on their health care by self-insured firms. Some firms cite the high cost of health care for AIDS as the motivation for their decision. Research demonstrates, however, that AIDS is not the only high-priced disease to treat. Treatment for lung cancer is costly as well. In many cases, unprotected sex leads to HIV/AIDS and lung cancer is strongly linked to tobacco use. Therefore, lung cancer can be studied as a comparison disease for issues relating to health care coverage of PWAs. A literature search also shows that no examples of limitations on health care were found among lung cancer patients. A 1992 Supreme Court decision did not restrict the inequitable access to health care through self-insured plans for AIDS patients. When employees of self-insured firms exhaust their insurance benefits, which can occur quickly, they apply for Medicaid or Medicare benefits. As a result, the government's burden is increased in the care of PWAs. The issue, therefore, should be to ensure that employees of self-insured firms have equal access to health care since there are other serious diseases, such as lung cancer, that are also expensive to treat.