The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), in the United States, has put forward a proposal to offer Medicare beneficiaries HIV/AIDS testing. This new proposal is aimed at those who fall into high-risk groups for HIV/AIDS, especially pregnant women.
HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in an interview with the online HIV/AIDS resource
The Body, said the proposal was a national response to combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic. “Knowing about their HIV status can help patients live longer, fuller lives as well as avoid unintentional transmission of the virus to others,” she said.
The proposal was made possible by the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. This act allows the scheme to cover additional preventive services, which in this case would be HIV testing. The main aim of the proposal is to make people aware of their status, allowing them, if necessary, to receive medical care in the form of anti-retroviral treatment (ART).
“This proposal to cover HIV screening for our Medicare population has great potential in terms of saving lives and improving the quality of life for many seniors, as well as beneficiaries under the age of 65,” said Acting CMS Administrator Charlene Frizzera.
The proposal received praise from HIV/AIDS officials in the White House. Also speaking in the interview with The Body, Jeffery S Crowly, director of the White House National AIDS Policy, said, “The President is committed to re-focusing national attention on the domestic HIV epidemic and salutes this decision as an important step in our overall strategy.”
He added: “We are working with agencies across the government to achieve the President’s goals of reducing HIV incidence, getting all people living with HIV/AIDS into care and improving health outcomes, and reducing HIV-related health disparities. The actions taken by the HHS today are an important part of our efforts.”