Neil, an African American gay man living in the South, lost his job—and his health coverage—in 2010. That same year, he was diagnosed with HIV. He struggled for years without the medication he needs, which costs $3,000 a month and is not covered by public programs available in his home state.
Under the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, however, financial assistance is available to help make coverage more affordable, and plans are not allowed to discriminate against people living with HIV or people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, or LGBT. When the health insurance marketplaces that were established under the law opened in October 2013, Neil found a plan he can afford that covers the medications he needs. “The Affordable Care Act,” he says, “is something that is helping me, so that I can live.”
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