Report Examines Medicaid's Role for People With HIV/AIDS

A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation examines Medicaid's current role in providing health coverage for people with HIV and provides an important baseline for monitoring the impact of health reform in expanding coverage to this population beginning in 2014.

Medicaid and HIV: A National Analysis examines national enrollment and spending patterns for Medicaid enrollees with HIV, looking at key demographics, Medicaid eligibility pathways, services and geographic distribution. It also compares Medicaid enrollees with HIV to their counterparts without the disease, as well as to the population of people living with HIV in the U.S. Findings from the report include:

• Although Medicaid enrollees with HIV represent less than 1 percent of the overall Medicaid population, they account for almost half of people with HIV in regular care.
• Disability is the most common Medicaid eligibility pathway for people with HIV, with 74 percent qualifying as disabled. Among enrollees without HIV, children represent the largest eligibility group and account for 53 percent of the Medicaid population.
• Per capita spending for Medicaid enrollees with HIV is almost five times higher than for those without an HIV diagnosis, reflecting the high cost of HIV care. Prescription drugs account for the largest share of spending for enrollees with HIV (31 percent), but represent the smallest share for enrollees without HIV (7 percent).

Given Medicaid's critical role for those with HIV, this analysis can help inform ongoing efforts to increase access to care and improve health outcomes for people with HIV.

The report is available online.