Costs of HIV Treatment

A recent Johns Hopkins study underscores the importance of Moveable Feast services.

The study found that delaying treatment for HIV can massively increase the costs of treatment and care. HIV-positive persons often delay treatment because they "don’t know they’re infected, don’t know how to access care or have other problems such as mental health issue or an addiction," say the JHU researchers.

But delaying treatment can take a serious toll on the pocketbook and on the healthcare system. In fact, costs for the first seven to eight years of initial treatment were higher by an average range of $27,275 to $61,615 for patients who delayed their treatment. That's a huge amount.

Delaying treatment also makes it more likely that a patient has a weakened immune system, making him more susceptible to random infections or cancer development.

Moveable Feast maintains an important role for Marylanders with HIV/AIDS. Regardless of whether or not a client was subject to delayed treatment, we know that the costs are high. We're here to help them fight their disease and boost their immune system by providing nutritious foods and dietitian counseling at no cost.