Tell Congress to Make Health Care Reform Work for People with
HIV/AIDS
Congress is
moving quickly to develop and pass health care reform
legislation. One committee in the Senate will begin debating
legislation this week.
The move to reform health care in
the United States must ensure that everyone living with
HIV benefits from early and reliable access to lifesaving care
and treatment. However, there are increasing rumors and concern
that three top priorities for people with HIV/AIDS will not be
addressed in the final legislation. Coordinated action by our
entire community is needed NOW to make sure Congress knows how
important these three core provisions are for all of us:
· Expanding
Medicaid for all
low-income people, including childless adults, by eliminating
current requirements that tie Medicaid to disability status.
This would give approximately 42% of all people living with HIV
who are currently uninsured immediate access to health care
through Medicaid.
· Including
Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA) language which gives states
the option to expand Medicaid access to low-income people living
with HIV whose incomes are above established Medicaid income
eligibility rules. This will give states the option to expand
coverage for people living with HIV/AIDS, reaching more than 75%
who are currently uninsured.
· Including
a strong public plan option to help provide affordable access to
comprehensive care for people HIV – nearly 30 percent of whom
have no insurance. This would offer a national standard for
coverage and greater dependability, consistency and security for
people with HIV than private plans, which can charge higher
prices and/or close, merge or change benefits at will.
All three of these priorities are
crucial to ensure the best possible expansion of care and
treatment for people with HIV/AIDS and must be part of any final
health care reform package.
Decisions are being made quickly
and Congress needs to hear directly from people who are most
impacted by this legislation. Please take a minute to make two
important phone calls today!
How you can help
The Senate is considering health
care legislation right now, so calls are needed to both of your
Senators.
Call your two United States
Senators in their Washington, DC offices. Ask to speak to the
staff person who handles HIV and health care issues. You might
get their voicemail, or you might speak to them in person.
Either way, tell them:
“My name is ____________ and I live in (city/state). I am very
concerned that health care reform will not meet the needs of
people living with HIV/AIDS. Any final health care legislation
must eliminate the disability requirement for Medicaid and
ensure that all low-income people, including childless adults,
have early access to care. It must also include language from
the Early Treatment for HIV Act which expands access to Medicaid
for people living with HIV. Finally, it must have a public plan
option to best ensure affordable access to comprehensive care
for people with HIV. All three provisions are crucial to ensure
that people with HIV/AIDS have early access to care and
treatment that keep them healthy and productive. I urge Senator
______________ to do everything in his/her power to fight for
these important provisions.”
You can reach your Senators by
calling the Capitol Switchboard at 1-202-224-3121. If you don’t
know who your Senators are, go to
www.congress.org and enter your zip code in the upper right
corner.
Phone calls are particularly
effective right now because Congress is moving quickly. However,
if you prefer to send an email, go to your Senator’s website
(linked from
www.senate.gov). You will find instructions on sending
emails to that office. Cut and paste the phone message, make
sure your name and the Senator’s name is included, and add a
short personal note explaining why this issue is important to
you.
If you need help figuring out who
your Senators are or how to call/email them, write to
action@projectinform.org and someone will help!
For more
information:
Go to
www.taepusa.org for background information and analyses of
various health care reform proposals and the impact on people
with HIV/AIDS.
The
HIV Health Care Access Working Group is hosting regular
conference calls to update the community about health care
reform efforts and how people can get involved. All are invited
to participate. The calls are the 1st and 3rd
Thursday of each month at 2 pm Eastern. To join the call, dial
218-339-2699 and enter access code 968918.
Other actions:
If you live in or near Washington,
DC, join the “Light the Night” rally organized by the SEIU
Health Care Equality Project demanding legislation that provides
high quality, affordable care for all. For more information, go
to
http://healthcareequalityproject.org.
