--- description: Two health organizations claim that four insurance companies are violating the Affordable Care Act title: Health Insurers Are Allegedly Discriminating Against HIV/AIDS Patients image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Health Care](/tag/health-care/) ## Health Care Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Complaint Alleges Discrimination Against Those With HIV/AIDS by Insurers  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent May 29, 2014 11:13 PM CUT  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent May 29, 2014 11:13 PM CUT The National Health Law Program and the AIDS Institute[ filed a complaint](http://www.healthlaw.org/publications/browse-all-publications/HHS-HIV-Complaint#.U4e3K5RdX2B "undefined") with federal health officials Thursday asserting that four insurance companies have structured their plans in a way that discourages people living with HIV or AIDS from choosing them. If the accusations are true, those insurance companies would be violating a [civil rights section](http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/understanding/section1557/ "undefined") of the Affordable Care Act. The two health organizations say the insurance companies, which offer plans in Florida through the federal online exchange, require that HIV and AIDS patients pay for a percentage of their drugs instead of a flat $10 co-pay. HIV and AIDS drugs can get expensive, so asking patients to pay 40% to 50% of the wholesale cost of their drug — thousands of dollars — becomes burdensome. The two groups also allege that the plans require high up-front costs and too many prior authorizations. Federal health officials are reviewing the complaint. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/139241/complaint-alleges-discrimination-against-those-with-hivaids-by-insurers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/139241/complaint-alleges-discrimination-against-those-with-hivaids-by-insurers/"},"headline":"Complaint Alleges Discrimination Against Those With HIV/AIDS by Insurers","datePublished":"2014-05-29T23:13:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:07:24.282Z","description":"Two health organizations claim that four insurance companies are violating the Affordable Care Act","url":"https://time.com/139241/complaint-alleges-discrimination-against-those-with-hivaids-by-insurers/","keywords":["Health Care","health insurance","Affordable Care Act","HIV","Aids"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/health-care/","name":"Health Care"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/139241/complaint-alleges-discrimination-against-those-with-hivaids-by-insurers/","name":"Complaint Alleges Discrimination Against Those With HIV/AIDS by Insurers"}}]}] ```