"Carl Philtmoon" wrote in message...
My brother has AIDS, but I actually agree with you. I used to make
claims of AIDS patients costing millions of dollars a year to keep
alive, but I have since learned that the cost has dropped to about
$12,000/year for medication, plus a variable amount for additional
medical care for the other illnesses they are prone to.
It really is a problem though. Unlike other diseases, treatment
for HIV/AIDS is lavishly funded, largely through federal grants.
If I needed a coronary bypass operation, the government would
tell me to fuck off and make me pay for it out of my own pocket.
But if I caught HIV they would literally throw money at me to
pay for medical care.
This is not to say there is unlimited funding for HIV/AIDS.
Recently some states have begun having to scale back their
services due to lack of money, while at the same time the Bush
administration is preparing to spend tens of billions of
dollars to treat African victims. The money Bush will spend
won't make even the slightest dent in the African AIDS epidemic,
but that same amount of money would pay for much AIDS treatment
and prevention in the U.S.
