In what is being hailed as a victory for federal employees with HIV/AIDS, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association has announced that it has removed HIV drugs from its mandatory mail order drug list.
“This about-face by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association will bring to a close a nerve-racking episode for patients with HIV and AIDS who face serious threats to their health and privacy,” said Jerry Flanagan, lead staff attorney for Consumer Watchdog.
According to Consumer Watchdog, federal employees who use these drugs work closely with their local pharmacists for counseling regarding the use of the drugs, something difficult to do when getting the drugs via the mail.
Also, Consumer Watchdog says that some HIV/AIDS medications are delivered in refrigerated containers, so customers who receive the medications will sometimes face privacy issues if neighbors become suspicious when seeing the unique packages being delivered to their homes.
Blue Cross says that the changes it has announced will take effect on June 27. The company sent a letter outlining the details of the changes to affected plan participants.
