Table of Contents Newsletters & Articles Island News Women's News Conferences Guam Calendar The Arrow Family

New Medications: Expensive, but... If you are HIV infected and you are fortunate enough to have health insurance or other financial resources, some of the new drugs, recently approved by the US FDA may help improve your health. As reported by "Positively Aware" for those who are well - insured the pro tease inhibitors and the non - nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors offer huge promise in boosting CD4 counts and suppressing viral loads. Unfortunately, the disaster in the making, states Positively Aware, is that these long - awaited treatments may not get into the hands of those who need them the most. Individuals whit HIV / AIDS who are uninsured or under insured and who must depend on public programs for their HIV - related medications are having nowhere near as much success in accessing these new drugs. The first option for people who are uninsured or under insured is to try to tap into the AIDS Drug Reimbursement Program offered to states and available in Guam through the Department of Public health and Social Services' AIDS Unit. This would include people who have health insurance, but work for a company who purchases health insurance which excludes HIV/AIDS treatment. If your health insurance does not cover HIV/AIDS treatments, contact the AIDS unit at the Department of Public Health and Social Services or call them at 734-2437. Anyone with HIV who cannot have access to the best treatments will likely experience faster disease progression, more hospitalizations and more opportunistic diseases requiring medical treatment. Such medical needs will place even greater demands o both private and public health care facilities and resources. An alternative for those who need one of the new protease inhibitors and are unable to pay for it or secure it through DPHSS, there is a program, called SUPPORT, offered by the manufacturer of Crixivan. Through SUPPORT, Merck offers Crixivan free to eligible patients. For further information about how to obtain Crixivan free through SUPPORT you may call Stadtlanders Hot line for Crixivan at (800) 238-1548.