For the first time ever, positive people in the Indian state of Karnataka will be eligible for HIV-specific group health insurance to help cover the cost of treatment, India’s The Economic Timesreports.
According to the article, the pilot program will provide an annual premium of 1,500 rupees for 250 positive people in Karnataka’s six districts: Bellary, Mangalore, Mandya, Kolar, Mysore and Udupi.
The program, launched August 13, was introduced by Population Services International in partnership with Star Health and Allied Insurance Company and the Karnataka Network for Positive People (KNP+).
“It is a problem to enroll HIV-positive people, because they don’t disclose or come forward,” said PSI program director Sanjay Rao Chaganti. “Only through the help of organizations like KNP [can it] be done.”
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Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
