The cost of treating HIV? A tough pill to swallow. — February 6, 2015

“A Tough Pill to Swallow”, an article from the latest issue of Lavender Magazine,​ tells the story of three men with HIV. It’s a story about courage and triumph – it’s also a story about the harsh financial realities of surviving the illness.

As it notes in the story, many today, particularly young people, think HIV has been practically “cured” with the use of antiretroviral therapies. What they don’t think about is the literal and figurative price someone with HIV pays each month: $3,000 for pills, $10,000 a year for medical insurance, not to mention the psychological toll of pill fatigue and stigma.

Please share this article. It’s important that people understand what HIV looks like today – a potentially impoverishing, long-term disease that must be vigilantly guarded against by those who have contracted it.

Only if we continue to speak out about HIV today will people begin to understand the value of organizations like Clare Housing​ in providing much needed housing support to the 50% of people diagnosed with HIV who will find themselves homeless or at risk of being homeless in their lifetimes. Housing truly does equal healthcare.

Thanks so much to the three men who generously shared their stories in this article, including our very own staff member, Xander, who we are all fortunate to work with every day! Thanks also to Lavender for drawing attention to this very often missed dimension of living with HIV/AIDS.