MISSION STATEMENT: The HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute promotes quality and affordable healthcare for people living with or at risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other serious and chronic health conditions.
Monitors policies that impact the prevention and treatment of HIV, viral hepatitis, and other health conditions in the United States.
Communicates with members of the HIV, hepatitis, and other patient group communities on key policy issues that impact their access to healthcare.
Educates policymakers and members of the media about efforts to end both HIV and hepatitis in the United States and to improve access to quality and affordable healthcare for people with or at risk of serious or chronic health conditions.
Our Team
Carl Schmid has been a national policy and advocacy leader in the HIV community for over 25 years. He spent 16 years with The AIDS Institute, serving as its Deputy Executive Director. In December 2019, he formed the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, which promotes quality and affordable healthcare for people living with or at risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other serious and chronic health conditions.
Mr. Schmid leads advocacy efforts to ensure domestic HIV and hepatitis programs are based on sound public policy and fully funded. He has expertise in healthcare financing systems, including Medicaid and Medicare, and leads efforts to ensure that the Affordable Care Act meets the needs of beneficiaries, including prescription medications.
From December 2018 to August 2021 he served as Co-Chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) and Co-Chaired its Ending the HIV Epidemic Subcommittee through June 2023. He currently serves as a consumer representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, a member of the NAIC/Consumer Participation Board of Trustees, and a member of the Leadership Advisory Council for the U.S. Business Action to End HIV.
He is a cancer survivor and living with chronic hepatitis B.
Mr. Schmid earned a B.A. in Public Affairs and an M.B.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Kevin Herwig
Health Policy Manager
Michael Knaapen
Government Affairs Manager
Scott Palmer
Executive Assistant
Ann Lefert
Jennifer Burke
Communications Consultant
Board Members
CARL SCHMID
President
Executive Director
HIV+Hep Policy Institute
Washington, DC
ANDREW SPERLING
Vice President
Senior Director, Government Affairs
Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc.
Washington, DC
REKHA RAMESH
Treasurer
Vice President, Head of Global Policy
Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Foster City, CA
JUSTIN C. SMITH MS, MPH
Secretary
Director, Campaign to End AIDS
Positive Impact Health Centers
Atlanta, GA
ERIN DARLING
Associate Vice President of Federal Policy
Merck
Washington, DC
MARC MEACHEM
Director of External Affairs
ViiV Healthcare
Washington, DC
RAFAELÉ NARVÁEZ
Co-Founder
Latinos Salud
Oakland Park, FL
PAM TRAXEL
Senior Vice President
American Cancer Society
Cancer Action Network
Washington, DC
STEVEN R. YOUNG
Former Director
HIV/AIDS Bureau, HRSA, HHS
Yardley, PA
Funders for HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute
HIV+Hep appreciates the support of numerous funders, and recognizes those below that are our corporate members and sponsors:
Get Involved
Facebook posts by @HIV+Hep
We continue to advocate for lower #outofpocket costs to #patients in comments to the Maryland Prescription #drug Affordability Stakeholder Council as it considers which drugs to review: bit.ly/4aQnPCB
Despite our lawsuit against HHS.Gov, which we won, Secretary Becerra doesn’t understand how insurers & #PBMs aren’t counting #copayassistance dollars towards #outofpocket costs. He thinks there is no harm to #Rx access & confuses it w/Medicare. Watch exchange w/Congressman Buddy Carter:
Our HIV policy and advocacy work must plan for the future.
Long-Acting Drugs May Revolutionize H.I.V. Prevention and Treatment (Gift Article)
www.nytimes.com
New regimens in development, including once-weekly pills and semiannual shots, could help control the virus in hard-to-reach populations.
We are grateful to Congressman Buddy Carter for asking Secretary Becerra why the administration isn’t allowing copays to count. “The D.C. District Court struck down the rule that allows #insurers to implement these harmful progs, but your dept is defying that decision & has gone on record saying you will not enforce the court decision. Why are you defying the court’s decision? When will you issue a new rule clarifying that ALL #costsharing counts for #patients to meet their deductibles?”
From @AISHealth: “With the regulations governing #copayaccumulators still in flux, Carl Schmid says #patients continue to contact the HIV and Hepatitis Policy Institute to complain that they’re getting ‘huge bills [they] didn’t expect’ because of their pharma-provided #copayassistance not counting toward their #costsharing obligations. ‘That’s why we’re looking at future legal action that patients can take’”:
Advocates’ Frustration Mounts Amid CMS Inaction on Copay Accumulators
bit.ly
Language stating CMS will enforce a court ruling regarding the use of copay accumulator programs is missing from a new regulation.