State Medicaid coverage of AZT and AIDS-related policies

Medicaid programs are paying for 23 per cent of the health care costs of AIDS patients nationally, and approximately 40 per cent of all AIDS patients will become dependent on Medicaid to pay for their health care. The state Medicaid programs were surveyed by mail for this research in mid 1987 to determine if the states covered AZT (Retrovir), if limits apply to this coverage, if the states have or are developing AIDS-related policies, and if hospice care is a benefit. Forty-four states cover AZT (two additional states cover AZT only during inpatient hospital care), with most Medicaid programs placing some limit on coverage or reimbursement. Most states do not have special Medicaid coverage for AIDS care nor are they developing proposals or policies for this care. However, a number of states are developing or implementing AIDS-related policies through their Medicaid programs. These policies can become models for other Medicaid programs to follow if the incidence of AIDS increases in their states.