Dr. young: why is it in the U.S.A that certain states will only provide HIV meds to people who are forced to become indigent to recieve medication from this disease. Would these states be better served to allow the infected to return to work and offer a better life for themselves, their families and, in turn, pay taxes? We need to follow the lead of the Europeans and offers medical treatments to all without having to give up self-respect to recieve it. Ted

I don't entirely disagree with you-- I'd like to see a system where anyone with illness can receive care without respect to disease state or income. Nevertheless, our current system does provide more access to medications for HIV than many other treatment areas (cancer, diabetes, hypertension, to name a few). The major issue is that the cost of the care that we ask for is very expensive, and that our society is largely separated from the actual cost of care.