The Affordable Care Act repeal jeopardizes the efforts to end AIDS

California along with other states made a significant progress in a fight against HIV in recent years. New diagnoses of HIV infection in the United States have decreased or stabilized among many populations. For example California’s annual number of new diagnoses is down by over six percent between 2010 and 2014 (5,367 cases to 5,002). But the future of Medi-Cal program and efforts to end AIDS or “getting to zero”— meaning zero new HIV infections, zero deaths from AIDS, and zero discrimination nationwide might be jeopardized if the Affordable Care Act will be repealed by President-elect Trump and Republicans in Congress.

The United States efforts to end AIDS are based on easy access to HIV testing, sexual health education, and potent antiretroviral medications that can block transmission of HIV and prevent new infections. All these strategies require affordable health care coverage for HIV-positive as well as HIV-negative individuals, especially for low income and at-risk populations.

California estimates that the state will lose upwards of $20 billion if the ACA is repealed, which making the goal of an AIDS-free generation harder if not impossible to reach.