RePost: Florida Will Stop Providing Primary HIV Care to Uninsured

Via Sayen CroWolf:

The Broward County Health Department will stop offering primary medical care, mental health care and case counseling to uninsured HIV/AIDS patients on March 1, and turn over the job to private providers.

The department’s pull-back from HIV/AIDS services will require the county to switch hundreds of patients to doctors and case managers at other agencies, which have not yet been identified, health officials said.

“Over time, the community has developed the capacity through other providers to provide this care. It is now time for us, as public health, to [instead] fill unmet needs and gaps in the service delivery system,” department spokeswoman Candy Sims said.

The department will continue to offer HIV services for dental care, pharmacy, jail inmates and pregnant women as well as its large-scale testing and prevention efforts, Sims said.

The change affects health department patients whose care is paid by federal Ryan White grants. Patients have not been notified yet, but a few who have found out said they were worried that the change would disrupt care and lead to complications.

Sayen CroWolf's comment (and I agree completely): "Sadly, I’m willing to bet that this devastating change is going to go under-reported or missed entirely by other websites."