Ward No.105, Bed No 13,Long days have passed, since here I have been;

Patients often come and go, I see them lying all in a row.

No drops of dew, in a life so dry, No mother or father to soothe my cry.

The only gift bestowed was pain, AIDS is its name, my life is lame.

Alone as always I desire for a friend in calm,

Whose tender touch would heal me like a balm.

A friend who for me, would shed a tear,

A friend who would embrace me and would always be near.

But I know, this is an impossible dream,

For Life is a Stranger and Death very close seems.

But what is that Life, that has no pain to endure,

Unknown is the ecstasy of Suffering, if every wound has its cure.

Only if that last line was true!!! People who have not visited an AIDS patient ever in their lives would have agreed with the writer of this piece And those who got that chance, would be devastated and shaken with the agony and emptiness surrounding their world.

But that's just not enough. It pains to see that inspite of the print media and motion pictures constantly sending messages about the difference between HIV and AIDS and emphasizing on the misconceptions that surround the spread of AIDS, majority of Indian population continues to stay uneducated about the reality of AIDS.

Apart from that an important issue that needs to be raised very strongly is the Insurance of HIV positive patients. There is a complete lack of order one witnesses when beginning to assess the policies formulated for AIDS patients in the Indian sub continent.

Of recent a ray of hope has shone in the otherwise dark, cloudy sky. An India based Insurance Company called Star Health Allied Insurance has launched India's first insurance policy that covers people suffering from HIV/AIDS. According to this insurance policy, an HIV-positive person with a CD4+ T cell count of 500 copies per cubic millimeter of blood or more will pay an annual premium of 3,000 rupees, or about $74, the Times reports. If an HIV-positive person progresses to AIDS, the company will pay a one-time compensation of 50,000 rupees, or about $1,200, to the individual. The company has partnered with 1,800 hospitals and laboratories to administer tests to measure the CD4 counts of those seeking coverage.

V. Jagannathan, chair of Star Health, has said that presently, they have fixed the premium at $74 annually. The company plans to "revise that and lower the price in the next renewal." He added that the coverage scheme is awaiting Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority approvals, which the company hopes to secure by this weekend. The chief of the Indian Network for People Living With HIV/AIDS, K.K. Abraham has reportedly said that for someone with [a] CD4 count above 500 following proper treatment regimen and good nutrition," progression "from HIV to AIDS will take nearly 15 to 16 years." Hence this kind of coverage is excellent news for people with these problems.

However this is the only insurance cover in India for the HIV/AIDS population. We are talking about a country, which is home to a conservative estimate of 3.5 million HIV/AIDS patients. India happens to be world's first ranking country with a maximum number of people living with HIV infection/AIDS. It is known that there is still a range of uncertainty around the present estimate, and minor changes in some of the assumptions could result in substantial differences in total estimates of those living with HIV/AIDS, given the sheer size of India's population.

The situation is far more controlled and better handled in the West. If you go to work for an employer with 15 or more employees, Federal law (the Americans with Disabilities Act) gives you the right to the same insurance coverage provided to other employees. One does not have the option to single out HIV for special treatment. While insurance plans can exclude those with serious illnesses, large group plans rarely do so. If you are part of a small employee group, many states (including New York, New Jersey, California and Florida) now guarantee access to small group coverage regardless of your health, but in many other states, you can be excluded. If you are an individual purchaser, opportunities also vary from state to state. New York guarantees access to comprehensive coverage (beginning January 1, 1996, including prescription drugs and an out-of-network option) through any health maintenance organization (HMO). New Jersey offers an option of five standardized plans.

With more systematic efforts and better coverages in the West, insurance covers for HIV/AIDS patients are far better, more innovative and definitely more organized than those in India.

It is high time that the Indian insurance industry rises from its deep slumber and strives to make life a little easier for these unfortunate masses that deserve a better life.