Progress All Around Us!

Whew, last week was a whirlwind for the HIV/AIDS community! Years of advocacy finally paid off on several fronts: President Obama signed the Ryan White CARE Act reauthorization, the United States finally ended its discriminatory policy of prohibiting HIV-positive people from visiting or immigrating to the country, and the House of Representatives released its health care reform bill, the Affordable Health Care for America Act.  Yes sir! The community’s tireless advocacy is bringing about some serious pozitive changes for people living with HIV. Here’s a breakdown of each of the advances.

Ryan White CARE Act:

For the last year, AIDS advocates worked to ensure that the safety net for the more than 500,000 people living with HIV was protected and that essential improvements were made.   More than 300 organizations from Alabama to Washington, DC outlined in the Community Consensus Document (link to document) the needs of people living with HIV and the legislative changes necessary to ensure that services would continue. As a result, the majority of the community’s requested modifications were made including:

•    Five percent funding increase across all parts
•    Four - year program extension
•    Removal of the sunset provision
•    Creation of new incentives to identify new HIV cases and link positive people to care
•    Increase in time allotted for maturation of HIV cases

Travel and Immigration Ban:

The U.S. took the final necessary step to reverse the 23-year long practice of discriminating against HIV-positive visitors and immigrants last week. Since 1987, the United States has prohibited the entrance of people living with HIV from the land of the free. Congress and President Bush agreed to the elimination of the ban during the 2008 reauthorization of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. However, additional action by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was necessary to finalize the ban’s end and remove HIV from the list of communicable diseases of public health significance. HHS published the rule change on Monday and it will take effect at the beginning of 2010.

Health Care Reform:

Score for the public option! Early last week Sen. Reid (D-NV) announced that the Senate will include a national public health insurance option in its health care reform bill. Other details have yet to be released, but will be coming soon as the Senate is scheduled to start the debate in the next couple of weeks.

We closed the week with a bang when Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) released the House’s Affordable Health Care for America Act. The House bill includes a strong national public health insurance option as well as important provisions that will increase the ability of low-income people living with HIV to access health care. Floor debates on the House bill are scheduled to start this week.

Make no mistake about it, our leaders in Washington are getting your messages and are moving forward on expanding health care because of them. Keep it up!