A.I.D.S. costs U.S. $6B

Press, 14 January 1986, Page 33

A.I.D.S. costs U.S. $6B

NZPA-Reuter Chicago The A.I.D.S. epidemic in the United States has already cost more than $6 billion in medical bills and potential income lost through disability and premature death, according to researchers. Their study of the cost of the first 10,000 cases of A.I.D.S. in the United States, sponsored by the Centres For Disease Control (C.D.C.), was as the first attempt to assess the econo-

mic impact of acquired immune deficiency syndrome. According to the C.D.C., 16,138 cases of A.I.D.S. had been reported in the United States up to January 6, and the number of diagnosed cases is expected to double in the next 12 months. The study said A.I.D.S. now represents less than 5 per cent of the $lO billion to $2O billion total annual cost of medical care and lost income from infectious diseases in the .■ United States.

However, if A.I.D.S. spreads as predicted, the report said, it will eventually increase that annual cost by 30 to 55 per cent. A.1.D.5., which robs the body of its ability to fight disease, was first diagnosed in 1981. Victims often require repeated stays in hospital as they fall prey to cancer, pneumonia and other illnesses. A.I.D.S. also strikes many young victims, so the loss of <

potential earnings is high, ; the study said. “The expenditures for hospital care and 1 the income lost due to disability and premature death total $6.3 billion for the first > 10,000 cases of A.I.D.S. in : the United States.” I The findings, published in the journal of the American : Medical Association, used 1 surveys of hospitals in New , York, Philadelphia and San ■ Francisco. The income projections were based on com- ’ monly available actuarial and income tables.