Investment in antiretroviral therapy (ART), a combination of medications used to treat HIV, has saved Georgia more than $100 billion over 25 years, according to a study by Emory University infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Patrick Sullivan.
The study, which compares HIV epidemiological data from 1987 to 2023 to a hypothetical scenario without ART treatment, found that Georgia saved an estimated $107.2 billion due to the improved life expectancy of those living with HIV.
Dr. Sullivan told Georgia Voice that this fiscal benefit was caused by fewer people with HIV having to leave the workforce early and rely on public assistance. The study found that every dollar invested in ART returned $3.40 to Georgia’s public sector.
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This investment in ART did not only manifest in financial benefits; it was also found to have prevented new HIV cases and deaths by suppressing the viral load in people living with HIV, thus preventing onward transmissions. In Georgia alone, the study found that an estimated 57,885 new HIV cases and 36,921 HIV-related deaths were prevented by ART since 1987.
“The right thing to do medically, the right thing to do ethically, and the right thing to do financially, if that’s a primary concern, is to take care of people’s health and have our fellow Georgians be healthy,” Dr. Sullivan said.
In the Fiscal Year 2027 budget, released on April 3, the Trump administration proposed to reduce HIV prevention funding from over $1 billion to $220 million. While Dr. Sullivan said the study’s findings are something for people to celebrate, they’re also a reminder of the critical need for investment in HIV treatment.
“The people that work in this community are so aware and are having discussions every day about what is promising and what is going well. But I think it can get lost in the broader dialogue,” he said. “…People sort of lost sight of how critical these issues are and what progress we’ve made – and that it’s vulnerable, that if we backtrack on commitment to treating everybody living with HIV, making those resources available, things could get worse.”
The study included data from four other Southern states: Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas. While the South represents 38 percent of the national population, the region is disproportionately impacted by HIV with 52 percent of new cases. Georgia currently leads the country in new HIV cases.
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