TALLAHASSEE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the second time in two weeks, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) applauds and thanks Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin M. McCarty for brokering yet another agreement, this time with Coventry Healthcare of Florida (Aetna Insurance Company is the parent of Coventry). Through this agreement the insurer will now take steps to ensure that Florida residents living with HIV/AIDS and who are covered by Coventry Healthcare of Florida will have access to the lifesaving medications they need as provided through Chapter 627.429, Florida Statutes.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (Office) was recently made aware of allegations that some health insurers—including Coventry Healthcare of Florida—may have been violating this statute by placing all HIV/AIDS medications in the highest tier of their drug formulary, requiring prior authorizations to fill prescriptions, and implementing unnecessary and discriminatory step protocols.
“We at AIDS Healthcare Foundation applaud the Commissioner again for his actions and for his attentiveness to this issue of medication access for persons living with HIV disease in Florida, during a time when consumers—especially those with HIV disease—are confronted with a significantly shifting and confusing payer landscape,” said Michael Kahane, Southern Bureau Chief for AHF.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the industry and with the Commissioner and his staff in ensuring that policy decisions are not made or enacted that will impede successful care and treatment for persons living with HIV disease in Florida,” said David Poole, Director of Legislative Affairs for AHF’s Southern Bureau. The community of HIV patients, providers and other stakeholders need to remain ever-vigilant against any policies or procedures implemented that might affect access to care and treatment as more and more HIV patients migrate from the traditional Ryan White payer systems that have been in existence since 1990 to the Affordable Care Act Federal Exchange plans.
Although treatments for HIV disease are simpler and more efficacious than ever, the disease itself can be just as complex as ever to manage. Adherence to treatment is critical to a favorable health outcome and it not only helps the patient, but also helps the overall public health as well via what is known as ‘treatment is prevention.’
About AIDS Healthcare Foundation
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to more than 362,000 individuals in 36 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare.
