Medicaid guidelines troubling for Hoosiers living with HIV | Opinion
For decades, medical advances have transformed what it means to live with HIV. What was once considered a death sentence is now a manageable chronic condition. With consistent access to medication and medical care, people living with HIV can lead long, healthy lives, raise families, pursue careers and contribute to their communities. That progress is something we should celebrate and protect. Yet Indiana's newly released medical frailty guidelines tied to Medicaid work requirements threaten to undermine that progress by failing to recognize HIV as a condition that automatically qualifies individuals for medical frailty protections. The decision creates a troubling contradiction: We have spent decades helping people living with HIV stay healthy, yet our policies could now require them to become seriously ill before receiving protections that help keep them healthy. At Damien Center, Indiana’s largest HIV/AIDS service provider, we see firsthand how access to consistent medical care changes lives. We also see how quickly that progress can be threatened when someone loses health insurance or encounters barriers to treatment. HIV is a lifelong condition requiring ongoing medical care, regular laboratory monitoring and consistent access to antiretroviral therapy. These medications suppress the virus, protect the immune system and prevent HIV from
