can an employer exclude coverage for HIV drug therapy under a self ins

[Guest lourosner]

I would appreciate an answer with any legal cites.

[Guest]

IF you search recent news, you will see that last week there was a Supreme Court decision on something similar.

[jeanine]

The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal on whether the ADA is violated by a lower lifetime cap for benefits for AIDS and AIDS related illnesses in Doe v. Mutual of Omaha Ins. Co. (U.S., No. 99-772).

My question to you is: Is the plan refusing to cover all medications related to AIDS or coverage of medications that are only used to treat AIDS patients. For example, HIV patients often take an anti-viral medication, such as flagyl, that is not used exclusively for the treatment of AIDS. Most of the other drugs they take are marketed exclusively for AIDS/HIV. Are the excluded ones maintenance drugs or are they treating some manifestation of the HIV status, such as pneumonia? Does the plan cover some of the older, standard drugs (AZT) and not the newer, even more expensive drugs?