NEW ISSUE BRIEF FROM KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION EXAMINES IMPACT OF ACA ON PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV

May 12, 2016 • By AIDS.gov

The Kaiser Family Foundation has released a new issue brief, The ACA and People Living with HIV: An Update[PDF 603 KB]. The brief takes a second look at the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on people with HIV in five states—California, Florida, Georgia, New York, and Texas. Observations are drawn from interviews in early 2016 in which participants discussed their experiences with the ACA, following up on anearlier report from 2014 when coverage opportunities were only newly available.

According to the Issue Brief’s authors, focus groups conducted in the five states found people living with HIV are more comfortable with navigating health insurance two years into the ACA’s major coverage expansions. Those with coverage through either the Marketplace or through expanded Medicaid opportunities recognize their new benefits but often continue to worry about maintaining coverage and remain concerned about its affordability. Many people living with HIV in states without Medicaid expansion remain uninsured.

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program continues to play a crucial role in the lives of almost all the focus group participants, particularly the uninsured, who rely on the Ryan White program to meet their HIV care and treatment needs and say their lives depend on it. Even those with new health coverage continue to rely, in part, on the Ryan White program to support the full spectrum of care services they need, such as case management.

The publication is now available on KFF.org, along with an archived webcast of a public briefing featuring a panel of HIV experts.