In a context where poverty levels are known to be significant, and where governments are generally under severe fiscal constraints, the care of patients from the lower income brackets has become an important social concern. If the savings capacity and the human capital of the economy are compromised by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the ability of the economy to regenerate itself at a higher level will also be compromised. This is an important concern for the Caribbean given recent theoretical work coming out of the University of West Indies (UWI) which suggests that, in its interdependence with the economic system, the health system has the potential for converting a downturn into downward spiral (Thomas, 2000).