The Nation - News from Aug. 21, 1989

It may cost as much as $5 billion a year to treat AIDS patients with AZT, the drug that slows progression of the fatal disease, federal health officials estimated. The Department of Health and Human Services has added 400,000 to the number of people eligible to receive the medication by declaring it effective for those who carry the AIDS virus but have not yet exhibited symptoms. AZT now costs about $8,000 annually for each patient, according to the National Institutes of Health, and the drug already was available to an estimated 200,000 people with AIDS. “You’re talking about $5 billion,” said John Klemm, an analyst for the federal Health Care Financing Agency. “It’s a huge burden.”