health care reform

A year ago, the new national health reform law—the Affordable Care Act—passed Congress, offering the potential to transform the fight against the HIV epidemic by reducing deaths and new infections.

But some members of Congress aren’t telling the truth about how their constituents will benefit from health reform. They want to repeal the new program and starve it of funding.

Send a message to your member of Congress: Fully implement health reform now!

AIDS Foundation of Chicago and our partner organizations in the fight for quality and affordable health care will hold a one year anniversary celebration of the passage of the national health reform law on Wednesday, March 23rd, from 6-7:30 p.m.   It will take place at Chicago Temple, 77 W. Washington, Chicago.  Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky  (D-Chicago) is already confirmed to attend.

Via Huffington Post - Wishes don't come true often but for 35 million Americans, health care reform is about as close as it gets to a Christmas miracle.

Apparently Cardinal George didn't get the memo.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, until recently under the leadership of Chicago's own Cardinal Francis George, officially opposes health care reform (Merry Christmas, the poor and forgotten of America). This, my friends, is crazy.

You probably know by now that we're totally jazzed about health care reform. The insurance industry has been allowed to openly and legally discriminate against people with HIV and other chronic illnesses but that's coming to an end.

The Illinois Department of Insurance recently launched the new Illinois Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (IPXP).  The plan is designed for uninsured people with HIV and other preexisting conditions (including hepatitis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and others).  Because the plan is federally subsidized, the premiums are much more affordable than other high-risk insurance plans.  This is one of the first provisions of the federal health reform law that is helping people who are uninsured.

Among the myriad provisions of the historic health care reform legislation past this spring is a policy change that (beginning in 2011) will allow struggling state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) transition beneficiaries to Medicare Part D.  This is accomplished by allowing ADAP expenditures count towards Medicare Part D true out-of-pocket costs.

Confused?  You're not alone.

Dose of Change hosted a webinar with policy experts John Coburn of Health and Disability Advocates and Ann Lefert of National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors to help AIDS advocates prepare for this coming change.

Download presentation slides (PDF).

Download presentation audio and follow along with the slides (MP3).

Stay tuned for more information on how your state can take advantage of this change in the law.  Dose of Change will be developing more resources to help state-level advocates in the months ahead.

Our good friends at Treatment Access Expansion Project (TAEP) have put together two resources that will surely be useful for advocates trying to make heads or tails of the recently passed health care reform legislation: 

Slides with explanatory notes (PDF)

Adaptable Presentation (PPT)

While the legislation has been signed into law, most of the major provisions don't go into effect until 2014 and some, like closing the infamous Medicare Part D donut hole, won't be completed for years after that.  These resources from TAEP are a great way to prepare for the years of organizing and messaging around health care reform implementation that lie ahead.

Find out what's happening now, what's coming down the road and the work that remains to be done.

The final passage of health reform last week is a huge victory for people with HIV and AIDS.  Here are some of the short and long-term changes that will impact our community.

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) thanks the U.S. House of Representatives for passing historic health care reform legislation last night and the thousands of AIDS advocates in Illinois and across the country who urged this critical action. This landmark legislation will expand health care access for 32 million Americans, including hundreds of thousands with HIV.

PREVENT A HORROR-MOVIE ENDING: PASS HEALTH REFORM NOW!

Healthcare advocates expect excessively shaky camera work at Thursday’s high-stakes meetings, to be held at the Blair House in Washington. Will our leaders break the political impasse to bring about real health care reform? Or will they sentence lifesaving legislation to permanent banishment in the woods?

During Thursday’s nationally televised summit on health reform, President Obama and congressional leaders must chart a course out of the political thicket obstructing final passage for health reform legislation.  The hopes of tens of millions of uninsured Americans—and tens of millions more who will surely lose affordable coverage—rests in the outcome of this meeting. 

Contact Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid NOW and urge them to do whatever it takes to pass comprehensive health reform through budget reconciliation.  Call them—and your own members of Congress toll-free at: 1 (800) 828-0498. Go to www.congress.org to find out who represents you.