Since 1988, all people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Taiwan received free medical treatment; since 1997, they have received free highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). In 2004, medical treatment for PLHIV cost NT $250,000 (about US $7,500) per person on average; this is 70 times the average amount spent on health care by a person in the general population (Taiwan CDC 2005) .