Controlling the Cost of AIDS

April 13, 2006

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As the number of AIDS cases continues to increase, medical costs will continue to escalate. In addition to the costs of treatment for covered employees, cost of life and disability insurance will also increase.

If you decide to try to control costs through benefit plans, you must understand that all attempts to control costs must apply to all claims. The HIV-infected employee's claims cannot be singled out and treated differently from other claims. Methods to contain all medical costs include:

coverage for more cost-efficient treatment alternatives to hospitalization, such as outpatient care, home health care, and hospice care
coverage for experimental drugs (however some policies will not cover experimental drugs/treatments because they can be more expensive than traditional treatments)
case management approaches
flexibility in disability plan features such as salary continuation and return to work provisions
options affording job transfer, working at home, flexible hours, and part-time work
continuation of insurance coverage during leaves of absence
across-the-board reduction of coverage based on total claims cost or any nondiscriminatory factor

Do not use cost control as a reason not to provide prudent safety precautions or institute compliance and enforcement procedures.