Health Care is a Right: A Letter from the President/CEO of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago

A few weeks ago I was at a health care rally, wearing a t-shirt with the inscription: “Health Care is a Right!” It was a gorgeous summer day, the crowd was energized, and spirits were high.  A woman crossed the street and made a beeline for me and raised her hand and smiled.  I thought she was giving me a high five.  Instead, she waived her finger in my face and said, “I hope you die.”

I did not know how to respond.  Flustered, the only thing I could think to say was, “Yes I am going to die someday, but hopefully not for another 50 years or so!” Enraged by my response, she barked, “I hope it’s sooner than that!  And by the way, healthcare is not a right.  If you can pay for it, you can get it.” 

Within seconds, I had flashbacks to 1989, when I was wearing another t-shirt that read “Act Up, Fight Back, Fight AIDS.”  At that downtown rally, somebody screamed those exact words, “I hope you die.”

These eerily similar events some 20 years apart have crystallized for me just how far we have come in the fight against AIDS, while pointing out how far we have to go to end this pandemic.

Twenty years ago people vilified us, shouted us down, denied us access to care, and some even tried to quarantine us.  But we fought back, and we created the most comprehensive, exceptional AIDS care system in the world.  Today, our organizations are strong; AIDS treatment is state-of-the-art; and people with HIV are living longer, healthier lives.

But this incredible system, and all the progress we have made, is not sustainable, and it’s not sufficient.  The demand is far exceeding our ability to supply.

So what do we need to do?  We need to Act Up, Fight Back and Fight AIDS in a whole new way.  What we need is transformation.  What we need is health care reform.

We need non-partisan health care reform that benefits us all; the uninsured, the underinsured and the millions of us who are insured but can barely pay the premiums for ourselves, our families, and our employees. 

I am talking about health care reform that’s affordable, fair, accountable, quality- and outcomes-driven, and that includes a high dose of personal responsibility.  We need a system that preserves what works, like our AIDS care system, and stops the waste, fraud, duplication and administration that is literally killing us.

Without healthcare reform, we cannot, and will not, win the fight against AIDS.

Talk to a friend or colleague, respond to our action alerts, and most importantly, call your Congressperson and tell them “we need health care reform.” And remember that nearly every battle the AIDS community in Chicago has taken on over the past 25 years, we have won. 

Please join us in this next important battle, for it is one we cannot wage without you, one that we cannot win without you, and one we cannot afford to lose.

Sincerely,

Mark Ishaug