One of the main messages to emerge from the 3rd International Congress on Drug Therapy in HIV Infection [Birmingham, UK; November 1996] was that the future norm for treating patients with HIV infection is likely to involve combinations of 3, or even 4, drugs. This raises the issue of the cost of treatment. Would such therapy be affordable in the present climate of cost containment? According to a number of researchers, the answer is yes. In fact, the use of combination therapy may even be associated with an overall reduction in the total cost of care for patients with HIV infection, compared with the use of monotherapy, due to a reduction in morbidity.