Important Happenings in HIV/Health Policy

Important Happenings
in HIV/Health Policy

Week Ending: August 10, 2018
By: Matthew Rose & Sable K. Nelson

NOTE: The House is now in recess until September 4. The Senate is on its scheduled recess until Wednesday, August 15.

 

INPUT REQUESTED: A National Community-Led Plan to End HIV/AIDS as an Epidemic

Since 2014, several U.S. cities, counties, and states have announced Ending the Epidemic (EtE) plans. What makes these initiatives unique– in addition to their ambition– is that they are driven by community leaders, including people living with HIV. In the spirit of the Denver Principles, these plans should be by and for those communities directly impacted by the epidemic. Recently, the Trump administration has announced that it will draft its own national EtE plan by mid-2019. This obviously raises many concerns. First and foremost, can the drafting of such a plan possibly truly be led by the communities disproportionately impacted by the epidemic, when these very communities are facing direct attacks by the current administration? In order to preserve the community-led spirit of EtE work, Act Now End AIDS (ANEA) – a national coalition of EtE leaders – intends to draft a community-led national plan. We will engage in a broad, multi-tiered process to collect as much information from impacted communities around the country as possible in order to accurately reflect what we need to end the HIV epidemic for all of us.
To add your comments, CLICK →https://www.nmac.org/input-requested-a-national-community-led-plan-to-end-hiv-aids-as-an-epidemic/

 

WATCH: AIDS 2018: What Happened and What’s Next?

The Kaiser Family Foundation and the Global Health Policy Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) held a briefing to assess the major outcomes of the 2018 International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018), held from July 23-27 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The discussion touched on the latest scientific developments; the current funding climate for the AIDS response; and other major developments to the field emerging from the conference. The panel included:

  • Ambassador Deborah L. Birx, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator;
  • Chris Beyrer, professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and past president of the International AIDS Society;
  • Jen Kates, KFF vice president and director of Global Health and HIV Policy;
  • Greg Millett, Vice President and Director, Public Policy, at amfAR; and
  • Stephen Morrison, senior vice president and director of the Global Health Policy Center at CSIS.

For more information, WATCH → https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/event/august-10-event-aids-2018-what-happened-and-whats-next/?utm_campaign=KFF-2018-August-HIV-Event-International-AIDS-Conference&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=65160034&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9gHHBVSS5wS2kNwVWE3GXjX82BGYJ7_z5cGNfHwfuGED9fYE0Y03haRuxh06y0HA8SE4wdPZakxNKHRIPN-aCBI1a8PQ&_hsmi=65160034

 

Protect Medicaid a Key Part of the Social Safety Net

The purpose of Medicaid is to provide health care to low-income people. But in Kentucky, the state estimated 95,000 people would lose Medicaid. A federal judge ruled that Kentucky’s waiver could not be approved, because HHS hadn’t taken into account the likelihood that their policies would run counter to Medicaid’s purpose. So HHS has reopened the comment period on Kentucky’s Medicaid work requirement waiver plan through August 18 (this Saturday at 11:00 p.m. ET). They are looking to get more comments favoring work requirements.  HHS Secretary Alex Azar wants to approve them, despite the court’s ruling. But the judge was persuaded by the previous comments that the KY policy would deny medical assistance, not provide it. And Mississippi has its own waiver request for work requirements.  Parents in Mississippi can only qualify for Medicaid if their income is less than 27 percent of the poverty line ($84 a week for a mom and child). It’s a classic Catch-22: if very poor parents enrolled in Mississippi Medicaid don’t work, they will lose their health care. If they do work enough to comply, they will earn too much to qualify for Medicaid and will lose their health care.

Our friends at the Coalition on Human Need have created a template to submit your comments on the issue.

Click here for the link to have your voice heard on this issue 

The dangerous public charge conversation is back

Trump Administration is again looking at the issue of public charge. This policy would again tear apart families. If it moves forward, it would target legal immigrants who make less than $63,000 a year and their children. Trump is punishing people who wait years for a visa to come to America, work hard, and build a better life for themselves and their family. As many as 100 million people in the U.S. would fail themselves. Trump’s anti-immigrant attacks put families in danger.

For more information, VISIT → https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/reports/2018/07/19/453174/trumps-immigration-plan-imposes-radical-new-income-health-tests/ 

 

What You Can Do

TAKE ACTION: It is very important that our elected officials hear from us to protect federal HIV funding for HIV prevention and care.  Speak truth to power by sharing your personal stories with your elected officials. It is vitally important to meet your federal elected officials when they are at home. If we don’t support and advocate for HIV funding and programs, who will?  Our movement cannot afford to stand on the sidelines.  Your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives need to hear from you.

Also, MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE REGISTERED TO VOTE in time for the primary and general elections happening this year:

Wyoming 8/21/2018
New Hampshire 8/29/2018

For more information, VISIT→ https://www.eac.gov/voters/register-and-vote-in-your-state/

Finally, PARTICIPATE IN THE PRIMARY ELECTION(S) in your state:

Alaska 8/21/2018
Wyoming 8/21/2018
Arizona 8/28/2018
Florida 8/28/2018

For more information, VISIT→ http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/2018-state-primary-election-dates.aspx

 

What NMAC is Doing About It

  • NMAC remains vigilant in its advocacy to protect FY19 government funding and the existence of the social safety net.

NMAC released a Biomedical HIV Prevention “Blueprint” entitled Expanding Access to Biomedical HIV Prevention: Tailoring Approaches for Effectively Serving Communities of Color, a new report that establishes strategies to effectively use techniques such as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Treatment as Prevention (TasP) to end the HIV epidemic in communities x`of color. The full report can be found by visiting www.nmac.org/blueprint

NMAC Recognizes National HIV Testing Day

National HIV Testing Day Statement

Today (June 27) marked National HIV Testing Day! I encourage our NMAC Community to use what this day means by holding ourselves and our loved ones accountable. Each of us should be committed to making sure that we know our status (AND that those we care about know their status).

According to the CDC, an estimated 1,122,900 adults and adolescents were living with HIV at the end of 2015 in the United States. Of those, 162,500 (15 percent) were not aware of their status. While this is a relative decrease, population specific disparities exist. For example, being unaware of one’s status is particularly prevalent in youth. According to the CDC, among people aged 13-24 with HIV, an estimated 51 percent didn’t know their status when they tested positive. Since communities of color, especially in the south, are disproportionately impacted by HIV, it is imperative that we harness our collective power to change this narrative.

Right now, we have the behavioral and biomedical tools to prevent HIV. Knowing your status is the first step in ending the epidemic. From there, the goal is two-fold: (1) in the event that an individual tests positive, we must link those individuals to care and set them on the path to treatment adherence and/or viral suppression; and (2) in the event that an individual tests negative, we should educate that person about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). This week, Representative Barbara Watson Coleman (NJ-12) introduced a resolution written in consultation with NMAC and several national HIV and STD partners which encourages the U.S. House of Representatives to support increasing PrEP awareness and education in an attempt to reduce the number of seroconversions in the United States.

As an organization, NMAC is committed to doing all we can to end the HIV epidemic in the near future. In addition to my professional advocacy, I’m personally committed to #DoingItMyWay. At my well women’s exam earlier this month, I intentionally requested an HIV test. Both after taking the test and receiving the results, I also encouraged my partner, several of my sorority sisters, and cousins to empower themselves by doing the same. Can I count on you to get yourself or someone you care about tested for HIV today? For more information about where to get an HIV test near you, visit: https://locator.aids.gov/.

Yours in the Struggle,


Sable K. Nelson
Policy Analyst
NMAC

Nation’s Leading HIV, STD and Hepatitis Organizations Gravely Concerned by Trump Administration’s Refusal to Defend ACA

Nation’s Leading HIV, STD and Hepatitis Organizations Gravely
Concerned by Trump Administration’s Refusal to Defend ACA

 Urge DOJ to reconsider and protect those living with pre-existing conditions

Washington, DC — Five of the nation’s leading HIV, STD, and viral hepatitis organizations expressed grave concern today at the Trump Administration’s decision not to defend critical components of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in legal challenges brought by the state of Texas. By failing to defend the law’s central pre-existing conditions protections, AIDS United, NASTAD, the National Coalition of STD Directors, NMAC, and The AIDS Institute fear that this Administration has abandoned millions of Americans with chronic or pre-existing conditions, including HIV, hepatitis, and other STDs, who rely on the ACA for access to critical, affordable health care coverage.

In a suit filed in federal court this February, Texas claimed that when Congress eliminated the penalty associated with the individual mandate, it made the mandate itself unconstitutional. In its brief filed with the court on June 7, the Justice Department (DOJ) wrote that it agreed with the view that the individual mandate is indeed unconstitutional and that if it is eliminated, two provisions of the law that offer protections for people with pre-existing conditions — specifically, the guaranteed issue and community ratings provisions — must also go.

The potential effects of the Trump Administration’s decision cannot be overstated. In addition to removing protections from health insurer discrimination and denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions, including HIV, the actions advocated by the DOJ would wreak havoc on insurance markets.

The administration recently released an updated report on the progress made in achieving the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which they claim is evidence of their ongoing commitment to protecting and improving the health and wellbeing of all Americans. Unfortunately, the Administration’s decision not to defend the ACA undermines that claim, as does every effort to dismantle access to healthcare that this Administration has made. We will never realize the vision outlined in the Strategy or end this epidemic without the reforms that significantly expanded health care coverage to people living with or at risk for HIV.

We urge the Administration to reconsider its decision and to vigorously defend the ACA in this and all further court challenges.

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AIDS United (AU), NASTAD, the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD), NMAC, and The AIDS Institute (TAI) are national non-partisan, non-profit organizations focused on ending HIV in the U.S. They have been working in partnership to identify and share resources to sustain successes and progress we have made in HIV, STD, and hepatitis prevention, care and treatment in the United States.

NMAC OPPOSES DOMESTIC GAG RULE; WILL DEPRIVE  LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES OF HIV TESTING AND CARE


For Immediate Release
Contact: Chip Lewis, 202.853.1846, clewis@nmac.org

NMAC OPPOSES DOMESTIC GAG RULE;
WILL DEPRIVE LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES OF HIV TESTING AND CARE

June 12, 2018 – NMAC opposes the Trump Administration’s proposed “gag rule” to remove Title X family planning funds from providers that offer abortion services or referrals. Such providers are a vital, life-saving point of entry to care for people living with HIV and to prevention services for those at higher risk for HIV, particularly people of color and those in lower-income communities.

“As a women living with HIV for over 27 years and working on issues across women’s health, I feel strongly that this proposed rule is a threat to HIV testing, care, and prevention in lower-income communities, especially communities of color where such services are desperately needed,” said Linda Scruggs, Director of NMAC’s Leadership Pipeline. “Centers like Planned Parenthood are often a point of entry for people seeking HIV and STD testing and treatment. They provide vital HIV prevention services, like Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for people at risk for HIV, and linkage to care so that people living with HIV can live longer and reduce the chance of transmitting the virus to others.”

“The loss of funding for these centers will cause many of them to close, depriving already-underserved communities of options for the quality health care they have every right to,” said Scruggs. “We cannot stand by and allow communities that already have very few options for quality health care risk losing what little they already have. Through this rule, this Administration is putting the lives and wellbeing of countless Americans at risk.”

NMAC leads with race to urgently fight for health equity and racial justice to end the HIV epidemic in America. Since 1987, NMAC has advanced our mission through a variety of programs and services, including: a public policy education program, national and regional training conferences, a treatment and research program, numerous electronic and print materials, and a website: www.nmac.org. NMAC also serves as an association of AIDS service organizations, providing valuable information to community-based organizations, hospitals, clinics, and other groups assisting individuals and families affected by the HIV epidemic.

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TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DECISION TO END PROTECTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS HURTS EFFORTS TO END HIV EPIDEMIC

For Immediate Release
Contact: Chip Lewis, 202.853.1846, clewis@nmac.org

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DECISION TO END PROTECTIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS HURTS EFFORTS TO END HIV EPIDEMIC

June 8, 2018 – The Trump Administration announcement that they will no longer defend the Affordable Care Act’s protections for people with preexisting conditions endangers health care coverage for people with pre-existing conditions like HIV, cancer, asthma, or diabetes, all of which have a disproportionate impact on communities of color.

The fight to end the HIV epidemic is dependent on providing health care coverage to all Americans – particularly people of color – living with pre-existing conditions like HIV. If this decision stands, people living with HIV could be denied coverage or have to pay much higher insurance premiums. That will deter people from getting tested or seeking and staying in care, two vital components to ending the epidemic.

“Access to testing and health care is critical to ending the HIV epidemic,” said Paul Kawata, NMAC’s Executive Director. “If people living with HIV can’t get insurance because they have a pre-existing condition, they will not be able to afford the care they need and deserve. This is especially true for people of color who statistically bear the greatest burden of the HIV epidemic. Without care, they will no longer be virally suppressed, risking their own health and putting their partners at greater risk of HIV transmission. This decision endangers all of the progress we’ve made in the fight against HIV in recent years and we hope that it will be reversed.”

NMAC leads with race to urgently fight for health equity and racial justice to end the HIV epidemic in America. Since 1987, NMAC has advanced our mission through a variety of programs and services, including: a public policy education program, national and regional training conferences, a treatment and research program, numerous electronic and print materials, and a website: www.nmac.org. NMAC also serves as an association of AIDS service organizations, providing valuable information to community-based organizations, hospitals, clinics, and other groups assisting individuals and families affected by the HIV epidemic.

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NMAC RELEASES BIOMEDICAL HIV PREVENTION? BLUEPRINT FOR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR

April 10, 2018 – NMAC has released Expanding Access to Biomedical HIV Prevention: Tailoring Approaches for Effectively Serving Communities of Color, a new report that establishes strategies to effectively use techniques such as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Treatment as Prevention (TasP) to end the HIV epidemic in communities of color. The full report is available on NMAC’s website (link).

Pray for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands

Pray for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands  

Dear Friends and Supporters:
Unprecedented storms have devastated significant portions of Texas, Louisiana, and Florida, leaving many residents with little or no access to shelter, clean water, and life-sustaining medications and care. This is especially true for our brothers and sisters living with HIV. For them, every moment is a battle for survival. They are in crisis.Now, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands need help too. Hurricane Maria has demolished homes and facilities across Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, leaving much of the islands without power or water. The destruction in these states and U.S. territories demands a rapid response from our community. In the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the HIV Hurricane Relief Effort was established to rapidly provide grants to support organizations serving the needs of people living with and affected by HIV in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.Today, we are expanding the scope of our efforts to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. So, we are calling on all our friends and supporters – individuals and organizations – to contribute to the HIV Hurricane Relief Effort here.

AIDS United established the HIV Hurricane Relief Effort as part of the rapid response arm of the new Southern HIV Impact Fund, a collaborative effort coordinated by Funders Concerned About AIDS with generous support from Gilead Sciences, Ford Foundation, Elton John AIDS Foundation, and ViiV Healthcare. Johnson & Johnson has just made a major contribution as well. Gilead Sciences has also made an additional $1 million available to the Fund to support immediate assistance to areas affected by the storms. NMAC is partnering with AIDS United by appointing an HIV Hurricane Relief Advisory Panel made up of constituents from the affected regions to identify priority emergency needs for the HIV communities in each area.

Our people and HIV service organizations are in desperate need. Since the announcement of the hurricane relief effort at the U.S. Conference on AIDS, applications have been received from HIV organizations in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico describing the need for millions and millions of dollars to address their emergencies. Applications are being reviewed weekly and funds are being dispersed quickly. Grants have covered everything from housing to food as well as medications and medical care.

The demand for help will soon outstrip current available funds. We don’t need to tell you that this assistance will be the difference between life and death for thousands of people living with HIV in the affected areas. There is no time to lose. Organizations, businesses, and individuals can make donations to the HIV Hurricane Relief Effort here.Questions about the fund should be sent to Melanie Powers, Program Manager at AIDS United, at mpowers@aidsunited.org. The communities affected by this year’s hurricanes are part of the epicenter of the U.S. epidemic of HIV. In 2014, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 100,000 people with HIV lived in Florida, more than 77,000 in Texas, nearly 19,000 in Louisiana, and more than 17,000 in Puerto Rico.

We must do all we can to help. Now!
Jesse Milan, Jr.       Murray C. Penner        David C. Harvey         Paul Kawata           Michael Ruppal
President, CEO       Executive Director       Executive Director      Executive Director  Executive Director
AIDS United            NASTAD                      National Coalition of   NMAC                     The AIDS Institute
STD Directors

STATEMENT FROM NMAC ON SENATE HEALTH CARE VOTE

STATEMENT FROM NMAC ON SENATE HEALTH CARE VOTE

July 26, 2017 – Following is a statement from NMAC Executive Director Paul Kawata on the U.S. Senate’s health care vote:

“The Senate’s vote to move forward with legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act is heartless and cruel. It will impose greater hardships on struggling American families –  including millions of Americans living with or affected by HIV. Data show that communities of color are at a higher risk for HIV and, should the ACA be repealed, they will see the care they’ve come to rely on be stripped away with no alternative. It’s no exaggeration to say that people will die if this repeal becomes reality. We implore the Senate to keep the Affordable Care Act in place and work TOGETHER to make it stronger so we can improve the lives of all Americans.”

NMAC leads with race to urgently fight for health equity and racial justice to end the HIV epidemic in America. Since 1987, NMAC has advanced our mission through a variety of programs and services, including: a public policy education program, national and regional training conferences, a treatment and research program, numerous electronic and print materials, and a website: https://www.nmac.org/. NMAC also serves as an association of AIDS service organizations, providing valuable information to community-based organizations, hospitals, clinics, and other groups assisting individuals and families affected by the HIV epidemic.

NMAC Stands with Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood and NMAC are working together to gather sign-ons for a letter from the HIV community to oppose harmful laws such as H.R. 1628. If passed, these pieces of legislation would not only radically roll back access to quality, affordable health coverage for millions of people but also needlessly bar Medicaid patients across the country from using their coverage to access care from Planned Parenthood health centers. We must not defund Planned Parenthood.

Over the past 30 years we have made amazing gains in the battle against HIV in women and girls as well as other people vulnerable to HIV. Thanks to organizations such as Planned Parenthood which have helped protect and deliver quality, compassionate care to millions of Americans, the number of new HIV diagnoses among women declined by 40% from 2005 – 2014.  Despite these gains, there is still significant work to be done for  Black Women and Latinas who continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV.

The HIV community knows the powerful impact Planned Parenthood has in serving rural, low-income communities, and communities of color. That’s why NMAC is proud to stand with our partner and ally Planned Parenthood – a key provider of comprehensive health services for women. But in addition to healthcare coverage, Planned Parenthood provides essential HIV/STI education, prevention, testing, and linkages to care. Across the country Planned Parenthood centers have become a source of comprehensive HIV prevention that includes counseling and innovative prevention options like pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

Together, we are stronger together and we must urge the 115th Congress to support the millions of patients who depend on vital care from Planned Parenthood health centers. Sign on today and tell Congress to continue to fund their important work.  Thank you for everything that you do to end the epidemic and standing up for our allies as you know they  know they will stand up for us.

Yours in the struggle,


Paul Kawata
Executive Director