Debt Ceiling Negotiations Could Halt Progress Against HIV/AIDS

via Huffpost Chicago, By David Ernesto Munar

As part of its debt ceiling negotiations, the Obama administration is on the verge of undermining one of the most significant policies it has put in place to alleviate the nation's 30-year HIV/AIDS crisis, which directly affects more than 1.2 million Americans.

In a sad twist of irony, the White House proposal to rollback critical health benefits, essential to the control of HIV/AIDS, is emerging on the one-year anniversary of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, unveiled by President Obama in July 2010.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that the White House is considering deep federal funding cuts for state Medicaid programs, a proposal which could have an immediate, chilling effect on efforts to meet the benchmark goals described in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Moreover, it would render the federal health reform law virtually meaningless for millions of low-income Americans.

Medicaid expansion for all low-income Americans, regardless of their health status, is the centerpiece of the health reform law championed by President Obama in 2010. Without full funding from the federal government to help states finance Medicaid expansion, low-income individuals -- including hundreds of thousands with and at risk for HIV -- will struggle to gain access to adequate healthcare services from bankrupt Medicaid programs, which will be unable to make up the shortfall in reduced federal funding.

The White House contends that its proposal for a "blended rate" of Medicaid financing for states is far superior to GOP plans to give states a fixed block grant to cover all their low-income healthcare needs, no matter how extensive. While indisputably better than the draconian GOP proposal, a blended rate would likely shortchange states of billions in Medicaid financing that they otherwise would receive under a fully implemented health reform law beginning in 2014.

Faced with reduced federal funding, most cash-strapped states will have no choice but to ration healthcare services and further erode already dangerously low provider reimbursement rates

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HIV positive man claims he was denied medication while jailed

via Chicago Sun-Times

A South Shore man claims he was denied HIV medication for a week while he was imprisoned in a downstate jail last year, a case that advocacy groups cited as an example of a hidden problem in correctional facilities.

Arick Buckles, 39, was detained in the Bureau County Jail in Princeton last fall after learning he was the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant for forgery charges.

Buckles said he “stressed to every jailer I came into contact with” that he was HIV-positive and needed to take antiretroviral medication daily. But he did not receive medication or see a doctor during his weeklong stay at the jail, the American Civil Liberties Union wrote in a June 20 letter to Bureau County Sheriff John Thompson.

Buckles, who said he experienced severe diarrhea after his release, described his time behind bars as terrifying, because “I didn’t know what the offset of my not having those medications would be.”

“I often wonder, if I had been a diabetic, would I have been denied medication,” he said.

Jail officials allegedly told Buckles they could not give him his medication because of the cost of the drugs, a justification the ACLU letter called “inappropriate and unconstitutional.”

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Prevention Revolution or Magical Thinking

O what a night! The forum was informative as our panel of experts provided information behind  Pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV (PrEP).This can potentially save millions of lives once available to the public.The audience was engaged by details of two exciting projects, iPrEx and Project PrEPare, both working to provide the opportunity for people to take a daily pill which could protect against HIV transmission.The audience also heard a testimony from a PreEP user on how he was affected by the study.  The Podcast of this event will be posted as it becomes available unto LifeLube.Check out the action below!

 

Photos by Ed Negron

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Chicago POZ Guys of Color! Regain control of your healthcare with Project IN-CARE

Project IN-CARE is a new program offered by AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Brothers Health Collective, Howard Brown Health Center, Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center and Test Positive Aware Network.

IN-CARE is about men supporting men in regaining control of their healthcare and their lives. This project is designed specifically to assist bisexual, gay/same-gender-loving and down low/discrete men of color who’ve recently tested positive for HIV or have been positive for some time but haven’t seen a doctor in at least 6 months.

IN-CARE participants are paired with a Peer Health Navigator - someone who is successfully managing their own health care and knows the resources available in Chicago as well as how to access them. Peer Health Navigators work with participants to help them access HIV medical care, as well as the knowledge needed to gain and maintain their health and many other resources they may need.

For further information please contact …

Test Positive Aware Network – Juan Mercado 773-989-9400 ext. 294

CORE Center – Kathy Jacobs-McLoyd 312-572-4633

Brothers Health Collective – Leveon Perkins 773-363-0055

Howard Brown Health Center – Julio Maldonado 773-388-1600

Chicago POZ Guys of Color! Regain control of your healthcare with Project IN-CARE

Project IN-CARE is a new program offered by AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Brothers Health Collective, Howard Brown Health Center, Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center and Test Positive Aware Network.

IN-CARE is about men supporting men in regaining control of their healthcare and their lives. This project is designed specifically to assist bisexual, gay/same-gender-loving and down low/discrete men of color who’ve recently tested positive for HIV or have been positive for some time but haven’t seen a doctor in at least 6 months.

IN-CARE participants are paired with a Peer Health Navigator - someone who is successfully managing their own health care and knows the resources available in Chicago as well as how to access them. Peer Health Navigators work with participants to help them access HIV medical care, as well as the knowledge needed to gain and maintain their health and many other resources they may need.

For further information please contact …

Test Positive Aware Network – Juan Mercado 773-989-9400 ext. 294

CORE Center – Kathy Jacobs-McLoyd 312-572-4633

Brothers Health Collective – Leveon Perkins 773-363-0055

Howard Brown Health Center – Julio Maldonado 773-388-1600

Tenofovir gel protects anal tissue

via Reuters

An experimental gel containing a prescription HIV drug has been shown for the first time to protect rectal tissue against the virus that causes AIDS, according to new research.
The gel, containing Gilead Sciences Inc's AIDS drug tenofovir, has previously been shown to sharply reduce HIV infections in women when applied inside the vagina.

The latest study, which involved rectal tissue biopsies taken from HIV-negative men and women who used the product daily for one week, provides the first evidence that tenofovir gel could help reduce the risk of HIV from anal sex.

The researchers, who presented the findings at a medical meeting in Boston, are reformulating the gel so that it is less harmful to the rectum than the original vaginal microbicide.

The risk of becoming infected with HIV from unprotected anal sex may be at least 20 times greater than unprotected vaginal sex, in part because the rectal lining is only one-cell thick compared to the vagina's multiple layers, making it easier for the virus to reach cells to infect, the researchers said in a statement.

Read the rest.

Chicago POZ Guys of Color! Regain control of your healthcare with Project IN-CARE

Project IN-CARE is a new program offered by AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Brothers Health Collective, Howard Brown Health Center, Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center and Test Positive Aware Network.

IN-CARE is about men supporting men in regaining control of their healthcare and their lives. This project is designed specifically to assist bisexual, gay/same-gender-loving and down low/discrete men of color who’ve recently tested positive for HIV or have been positive for some time but haven’t seen a doctor in at least 6 months.

IN-CARE participants are paired with a Peer Health Navigator - someone who is successfully managing their own health care and knows the resources available in Chicago as well as how to access them. Peer Health Navigators work with participants to help them access HIV medical care, as well as the knowledge needed to gain and maintain their health and many other resources they may need.

For further information please contact …

Test Positive Aware Network – Juan Mercado 773-989-9400 ext. 294

CORE Center – Kathy Jacobs-McLoyd 312-572-4633

Brothers Health Collective – Leveon Perkins 773-363-0055

Howard Brown Health Center – Julio Maldonado 773-388-1600

Illinois AIDS Drug Assistance Program Update

There are two important changes to Illinois ADAP that will benefit people with HIV who get their medications from either private insurance or Medicare. In addition, a third change may make it possible for people on ADAP to afford comprehensive health insurance under the new Illinois Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan.

1. More help with co-pays and premiums if you get your HIV medications through your insurance. ACTION NEEDED: If you have private insurance and earn less than $54,450 a year, consider applying for ADAP.

• ADAP used to enroll only people whose private insurance required them to pay more than 20% of the cost of each prescription, or who had co-pays of more than $100. ADAP will now enroll anyone with private insurance and pay your out-of-pocket costs, including any deductibles and co-pays. Note that your private plan must be able to coordinate with the ADAP pharmacy. In addition, the insurance company cannot require prescriptions for more than a one-month supply of medication. (ADAP will not a fill a three-month supply.) In addition, you must meet the other ADAP eligibility requirements.

2. More help with co-pays and deductibles for people who get their HIV medications through a Part D Medicare Plan. ACTION NEEDED: If you have Medicare and your income is less than $54,450, consider applying for ADAP. You can get help paying for your medications.

• If you are on Medicare and your income is under $26,917, you are probably already getting help with your premiums and co-pays from either Social Security Extra Help or Illinois Cares Rx. Your Part D prescription drug premiums are being paid and you probably don’t spend more than about $6 for each HIV medication. ADAP can now help you with these small co-pays too. Every dollar is probably important to you, so enroll in ADAP and get help with those co-pays.

• If you are on Medicare and your income is over $26,917, but under the ADAP limit of $54,450, you probably couldn’t afford your HIV medications last year, and got them from ADAP. Effective January 1st, 2011, the Affordable Care Act (the 2010 health care reform bill) allows the money ADAP spends on your behalf on your HIV medications to count toward your out-of-pocket costs. What does this mean to you? This year, you can get your HIV medications from your Medicare Part D plan all year, and ADAP will pay your out-of-pocket costs for HIV medications. The money ADAP spends on your HIV medications will help you get out of the Part D “donut hole”. ADAP will continue to help with your co-pays for HIV medications once you are in the “catastrophic” phase of the Part D program. You only have to pay 5% toward your non-HIV medications.

• One caution: Some people on ADAP now never reach the donut hole for their non-HIV medications. That means they are paying 20% of the costs of their non-HIV medications all year long. With this change, they will reach the donut hole, and may have to pay 100% of the cost of their non-HIV drugs during the donut hole period.

• As with private insurance plans, your Medicare Part D plan must coordinate with the ADAP pharmacy in order for you to be able to take advantage of these changes.

3. New Health Insurance Option for People on ADAP.

• Have you been without insurance for six months or more? (ADAP or free medical care from a Ryan White clinic doesn’t count). If so, you may be eligible for the new Illinois Pre-Existing Insurance Plan (IPXP).

Another change that health care reform has already brought to Illinois is the establishment of a new insurance plan for people who are uninsured and unable to buy insurance on the private market. Premiums for this new policy range from $135 to $653 per month, depending on your age, where you live, and whether you are a smoker. Illinois CHIC will pay up to $500 toward your premiums and Illinois ADAP will also help with your co-pays and deductibles for your HIV medication. This is a tremendous opportunity for people on CHIC and ADAP to obtain comprehensive health insurance. More information is available here.

If you have questions, call Illinois ADAP at 800-825-3518 or visit the ADAP website. Note that as of February 7, the criteria listed on the ADAP application and website does not reflect the policies above, announced at a January 21, 2011 meeting of the ADAP Medical Issues Advisory Board.

Yes, it’s complicated! You can also get more information about any of these changes from the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago. Call toll-free from anywhere in Illinois, 866-506-3038.