Health

Decisions about health policy clearly have an immense impact on issues related to HIV/AIDS, such as the cost/availability of drugs, insurance coverage, prevention programs, funding for research, etc.

Central to health and HIV policy discussions as of late are debates over Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and it’s corresponding tax subsidies.

• As of 2020, it was estimated that 28% of people living with HIV in the U.S. utilize Medicare, with the number of people with HIV who use Medicare doubling since the 1990s.
• According to The AIDS Institute, people living with HIV disproportionately utilize Medicaid, and the program is also “the largest source of federal funding for HIV treatment and prevention.”
• The ACA made it illegal for those living with HIV to be denied healthcare coverage or charged more for insurance due to HIV status.
• ACA tax credits served to lower the cost of private healthcare plans and expired in 2025 after Congress failed to extend them. KFF reports that “People with HIV may be particularly vulnerable [to losing coverage due to the loss of tax credits], given that they are more likely to have Marketplace plans than the public overall and many also rely on the federally-funded Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, which could be further stretched if Marketplace plans become more expensive.”

Accordingly, opinions and policy actions relating to these health programs are vitally important when discussing responses to HIV/AIDS.

LGBTQ Rights, Racial Equity and Justice, and Women’s Rights & Reproductive Health

HIV disproportionately effects LGBTQ people and people of color. More than 50% of those living with HIV in the US are gay or bisexual men, and, according to the World Health Organization “transgender people are around 13 times more likely to be HIV-positive than other adults of reproductive age.” In 2022, Black people were diagnosed with HIV at a rate 8.4 times that of white people, and Latinx people at a rate 5 times that of white people. Thus, policies affecting these communities are critical in responses to HIV/AIDS.

Finally, women’s rights and reproductive freedoms are intertwined with HIV/AIDS policies and responses. Due to systematic and cultural power imbalances, it is generally accepted that women face an especially high risk of being exposed to HIV. Further, HIV and reproductive justice issues remain connected as both issues disproportionately impact those already marginalized. In 2024, UNAIDS found that women living with HIV “suffer widespread reproductive coercion, mistreatment, and neglect when seeking reproductive health services and rights.” Therefore, the status of women’s rights and reproductive freedoms must be considered in conversations relating to HIV/AIDS advocacy.

It is also important to note that those at the intersection of these different issues / communities often face unique and compounding challenges.

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