Medicaid Patients With HIV May Lose Coverage In Miami

By danielle prieur/WMFE

Published April 10, 2018 at 8:48 AM EDT

More than 2000 patients with AIDS could lose coverage.

Medicaid patients living with HIV in South Florida might need to find new health insurance.

The Agency for Health Care Administration will decide whether to drop its contract with AIDS Health Care Foundation by the end of this month.

“Particularly when you’re talking about a vulnerable population, a population that faces issues like transportation, homelessness, all of the issues that vulnerable populations face, changing the provider can easily disrupt care,” said Michael Kahane, southern bureau chief for the foundation, the nation’s largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider.

The move by the state could disrupt care for nearly 2,000 Florida HIV patients, according to the foundation.

A protest is scheduled outside the Fort Lauderdale AHCA office, 1400 W. Commercial Blvd.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Orlando and Miami led the country for the most new cases of HIV in 2014.