Affordable Care Act helps Virginia improve HIV outcomes

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/idso-aca100615.php

Public Release: 8-Oct-2015
Affordable Care Act helps Virginia improve HIV outcomes
While providing care for more for at-risk patients, study shows
Infectious Diseases Society of America

Low-income HIV patients enrolled in Affordable Care Act (ACA) health care plans achieved better outcomes and the resulting cost savings allowed the state of Virginia to support care for more patients, according to a groundbreaking study from the University of Virginia being presented at IDWeek 2015™.

The study found that patients enrolled in ACA health care plans had higher rates of viral suppression - no or very little HIV virus detectable in the blood, the marker of successful HIV treatment - than those who received only medications for HIV through the state's direct AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). Researchers determined that ACA enrollment was affected by demographics such as age, race, gender and progression to an AIDS diagnosis, as well as systems-level factors, such as the 2013 ADAP coverage program they used, the federal tax credits they received and the specific HIV clinic where they received care.

"We found patients fared better under ACA health plans, possibly due to broader access to medical care and medications beyond those that target HIV," said Kathleen McManus, MD, MS, lead author of the study and a fellow physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville. "Additionally, this approach allows the state to cover the largest number of patients in the most cost-effective way. ACA plans provide more comprehensive care for the same or less money."

Patients with HIV who are engaged in HIV care and take their anti-retroviral (ART) medications as prescribed are more likely to achieve viral suppression. Patients with viral suppression stay healthier, live longer, and are less likely to pass the virus on to others.

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