Part 1 of Essay
BACKGROUND Since the first AIDS cases were reported in 1981, through mid-1994 more than 402,000 AIDS cases and more than 241,000 deaths have been reported in the United States alone. This is only the tip of the iceberg of HIV infection, however. It is estimated that nearly 1 million Americans had been infected with the vi ....

Part 2 of Essay
.... AIDS epidemic is having a profound impact on many aspects of medicine and health care. The U.S. Public Health Service estimates that in 1993, the lifetime cost of treating a person with AIDS from infection to death is approximately $119,000. Outpatient care, including medication, visits to doctors, home health aids, and long-term care, accounted for approximately 32 percent of the total cost. Persons exposed to HIV may have difficulty in obtaining adequate health-insurance coverage. Yearly AZT expenses can aver ....