Advocates seek to expand Medicaid access for AIDS treatment

What they're saying: "We know that any steps towards Medicaid expansion [are] good for our patients [and] brings down the cost of HIV drugs," Tracy Jones, national director of advocacy at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, told Axios.

• "Even though there are programs available to assist them, everybody doesn't qualify because a lot of them are income-based, so when we expand Medicaid, that makes it better for everyone who is seeking treatment," Jones said.
• Part of the foundation's initiatives, according to Jones, include advocacy work with partner organizations in the hopes of getting Medicaid expanded in states without it.

Georgia has one of the highest rates of HIV across the U.S., according to WABE.

• " ... We really have to have a different conversation with our legislative officials to expand Medicaid to reduce that burden and be able to use those prevention dollars some place else," Dr. Daniel Driffin, part of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network, told WABE.

Zoom out: HIV affects over one million people in the U.S., according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

• Meanwhile, 10 states currently do not have expanded Medicaid, according to KFF, which says that expansion of the program has increased coverage for people with HIV.
• "Medicaid covers a broad range of services, many of which are important for people with and at risk for HIV, including prescription drugs, inpatient and outpatient care, and preventive services," per KFF.

Go deeper: The push for HIV PreP equity