Perhaps it is the seemingly voluntary nature of infection that encourages the notion that enough has been done for HIV-related conditions. A prevailing view is that people only have to refrain from risky behavior known to be associated with HIV infection. However, HIV-related disease is not simply a matter of individual failure to observe warnings. Many AIDS cases were reported before public identification of the disease. Even after the disease became public, there was no clear idea of its cause or how to avoid it altogether. Even after the discovery of the presumptive causal virus and the development of blood screening tests, educational efforts to reach persons most at risk were inadequate and no one really knew what forms of education could effect behavioral change. The author notes that AIDS is not a "privileged" disease; a diagnosis of AIDS amounts to a virtually unlimited onslaught against an individual's physical, emotional, familial, and economic resources. In addition, there is the burden of stigmatization, since the disease is sometimes viewed as a punishment or deserved consequence of immoral behavior. All the money spent to date on the HIV epidemic has not assured adequate medical care, and this is especially true for the homeless population. Further, AIDS research funding has not produced a cure. Cost should not be an obstacle to keeping AIDS medical care and research a national priority. 27 references