Key Issues
Mission Statement: to promote quality and affordable healthcare for people living with or at risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other serious and chronic health conditions.
HIV
Promote necessary funding, programs, and policies to end the HIV epidemic in the United States
Funding
Ensure there is necessary federal funding for domestic HIV programs including Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, CDC HIV Prevention (including School and Adolescent Health), NIH AIDS Research, Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA), Minority AIDS Initiative, sexual education and other programs included in the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative such as Community Health Centers and the Indian Health Service.
Programs and Policies
Ensure that federal HIV programs and policies support the needs of people living with and at risk of HIV and are administered and delivered free of discrimination and stigma, fully engage relevant communities, and meet the needs of state and local communities, and allow them to best meet the goals of ending the HIV initiative, including increased HIV prevention, HIV screening, and linkage to care and treatment in order to achieve sustainable viral suppression. Ensure that funding is distributed equitably and used efficiently in order to maximally impact positive health outcomes.
Viral Hepatitis
Promote necessary funding, programs, and policies to end viral hepatitis in the United States
Funding
Ensure there is necessary federal funding for domestic viral hepatitis programs including CDC Hepatitis Prevention and others necessary to end hepatitis B and C in the United States, including those related to infectious diseases associated with the opioid epidemic.
Programs and Policies
Ensure that federal viral hepatitis programs and policies support the needs of people living with and at risk of hepatitis and are administered and delivered free of discrimination and stigma, fully engage relevant communities and meet the needs of state and local communities, and allow them to best meet the goals of ending hepatitis by increased hepatitis prevention, hepatitis screening, and linkage to care and treatment, including curative treatments. Ensure that funding is distributed equitably and used efficiently in order to maximally impact positive health outcomes.
Healthcare Access
Promote programs and policies that provide healthcare to people with HIV, hepatitis, and other serious and chronic conditions
Programs
Ensure that people with and at risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other serious and chronic health conditions have access to comprehensive, quality, and affordable healthcare that includes preventive services, including private insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, and other forms of health coverage.
Policies
Ensure that healthcare programs are patient-focused so that people can receive the quality care and treatment prescribed by their provider at a cost they can afford.
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.