The Efficacy of Mandated Insurance Coverage for AIDS

Abstract

At least 16,000 Americans have AIDS, and the Centers for Disease Control of the United States Public Health Service estimate that as many as 1.5 million Americans may be infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus ("HIV"). As public awareness of AIDS and its associated costs grows, the likelihood increases that insurance regulators and state legislatures will face calls to prohibit insurers from denying or restricting insurance coverage for AIDS victims. This article explores the various forms such a mandate might take, the practicality of mandated AIDS coverage, and the specific provisions of medical expense plans which play the most significant role in determining coverage for AIDS patients. The analysis concludes that, for a variety of reasons, legislation amending state insurance statutes to require coverage for AIDS would probably prove an ineffective mechanism to achieve laudable social objectives.