The Role of Government-Funded Assistance Programs on HIV Testing Among Poor U.S. Adults

Government-funded assistance program enrollment may play an important role in the overall increase of HIV testing among low-income U.S. adults. We pooled data from the 2016-2018 National Health Interview Survey and limited analyses to respondents aged 18 to 64 years with incomes less than 100% of the U.S. poverty threshold (N = 9,497). The outcome of interest was ever testing for HIV. Prevalence ratios were used to assess the likelihood of ever testing for HIV and were adjusted for sociodemographic covariates including whether the respondent was a beneficiary of any government-funded assistance programs (e.g., Medicaid; job-placement/training/human services; or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). After adjusting for significant sociodemographic covariates, government-funded assistance beneficiaries were significantly more likely to ever test for HIV (adjusted prevalence ratio = 1.3; 95% CI = [1.2, 1.4], p < .0001) than adults with incomes less than 100% of the U.S. poverty threshold who did not receive government assistance. Beneficiaries of government-funded assistance programs are more likely to test for HIV.