HIV-Positive Florida Woman Gets Care From Navy

On Dec. 19, the Navy's surgeon general informed a woman born HIV-infected that the military will cover her medical expenses.

"I just broke down and started crying," said Richelle Starnes, 27, who fought two years for this outcome. "This has been very stressful for me and for my family, but there have been a lot of people who have made me continue to fight for what I was promised."

A Navy physician missed signs that Starnes' mother was having complications during pregnancy, and she was hastened to a non-Navy hospital where she contracted HIV during a blood transfusion. Starnes was born HIV-positive.

Previously, Starnes received a Navy designation allowing her to receive HIV treatment. But the Navy had more recently told her that it would no longer cover her inpatient hospital care or medications for HIV.

Pressure from Florida's congressional delegation, including Sen. Bill Nelson and Rep. Tom Feeny, helped change that stance. Nelson wrote Defense Secretary Robert Gates asking for his assistance; Feeny introduced private legislation to provide Starnes lifetime care.

"We appealed through the proper channels and got rejected twice," said a spokesperson for Nelson, Dan McLaughlin, who added that staffers in the office have been involved with this case since it began. "Bill himself got involved last month."

Back to other news for December 2007

Search the Newsroom archive