Efforts to Repeal Health Care Reform Slow in the Wake of Giffords Shooting

Almost all Congressional activity was slowed or cancelled this week after Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was shot along with 19 others in Tucson, Arizona on January 8. Six people were killed. For realtime updates on Giffords’ condition, click here . In the 111th Congress, Giffords strongly supported the agenda of the HIV/AIDS community including support for health care reform, reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act and ending the ban on the use of federal funds for syringe exchange. AIDS United joins the nation in hoping for her continued recovery and expresses profound grief over the lives lost and injured.

Because of the events in Tucson, the scheduled January 12 House vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was cancelled and rescheduled for January 19. Health care reform expands insurance and Medicaid coverage for people living with HIV (PLWHs) in a variety of ways. For example PLWHs who earn less than 133% of the Federal Poverty Level will become eligible for Medicaid coverage in 2014 regardless of their current disability status.

Other provisions have created expansions of care that may benefit PLWHs. For example, as of January 1, 2011, the ACA allows State Drug Assistance Programs to pay for Medicare Part D Drug Benefit Out-of-Pocket Costs. By allowing those costs to count towards the amount that people are required to pay personally under Medicare Part D, the benefit will save money for State ADAPs and allow them to provide assistance to more people. Additionally, HIV prevention has received additional funding through the Affordable CARE Act’s Prevention and Public Health Awareness Fund.

For these reasons, AIDS United opposes the repeal of the ACA. Watch for an Action Alert from AIDS United on Tuesday and call your Members of Congress in support of health care reform.

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Lambda Legal Publishes U.S. Map of HIV Criminalization

Contributing to growing efforts spearheaded by the Center for HIV Law and Policy to fight against HIV-specific criminal laws and HIV-related prosecutions, Lambda Legal has published a map of HIV criminalization in the United States. The map, which identifies states with HIV-specific statues and/or HIV-related criminal prosecutions, also highlights egregious examples of HIV-related prosecutions, such as a man sentenced to 35 years in prison for spitting on a police officer. The map observes that over eighty HIV-related prosecutions have been made from 2008 to 2010. In several states—Texas, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, and Florida—there have been at least five prosecutions in the last two years. As the publication notes, there is no evidence that HIV criminalization laws deter risky behavior and may actually increase stigma against HIV-positive individuals. Furthermore, while no directed studies have been implemented, previous behavioral studies suggest that criminalization laws would reduce incentives to status disclosure and subsequently seem to have a negative impact on in reducing HIV transmission.

To see the map and find out more information click here.

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Briefing on Funding for Global Health

On January 10, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Cristian Baeza, World Bank Director for health, Nutrition and Population, addressed the changing landscape of global health funding in his presentation, “Is the Era for Big Funding for Global Health Over?”. Dr. Baeza’s presentation and discussion focused on the changes in and future of global health funding, the link between health investments and economic growth, and the challenges in global health aid.

According to Baeza, annual development assistance for health (DAH) increased 200% from roughly $8 billion to $24 billion between 1996 to 2008. Growth in public financing of health also increased significantly during that same time in all developing health regions and overall by 88%. As a result, developing countries have seen marked improvements at aggregate in their population’s health according to a number of indicators such as measles immunization, mortality rate of children under 5 years old, life expectancy, and maternal mortality rate.

Baeza emphasized how crucial it is for developing countries to continue investing their own resources in public health. Statistics in Baeza’s presentation showed that 17.5% of healthcare expenditure in low-income countries was external compared to only 1.1% in lower-middle income countries. He noted that while an increase in development assistance matters, recipient countries must also have a say on how external funds are spent and what the objectives of such spending should be. He spoke of the economic benefits of investing in health, citing certain studies that demonstrate an inextricable link between improved national health and an improved economy. One study, for instance, found that a 10% reduction in malaria incidence leads to 0.3% higher economic growth.

Baeza concluded by highlighting four strategies for improving global health funding effectiveness: 1) More funding and accountability for health results, not just health care; 2) Strengthening health systems and infrastructure; 3) Harmonization and alignment of needs and goals on all funding levels, and; 4) Linking funding to health results.

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New Book Examines Next 30 Years in Fight Against AIDS

To promote the publication of AIDS: Taking a Long-Term View, written by the aids2031 Consortium, the Global Health Council hosted an event on January 13 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., featured a panel consisting of Dr. William F. Fisher, Professor and Director of the International Development, Community, and Environment Department at Clark University, Dr. Paul D. Bouey, Deputy U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator for implementation of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and Dr. Jessica Ogden, Director and CEO of Ogden Health & Developmental Connections. Dr. Jeffry L. Sturchio, President and CEO of the Global Health Council, moderated.

Dr. Fisher addressed the future of AIDS work and how crucial the next thirty years are to determining outcomes for the next 30 years. He called for a greater recognition of context specificity, describing AIDS as a “set of epidemics” rather than a pandemic. Dr. Ogden, spoke next on social drivers of vulnerability and risk to HIV/AIDS infection. She picked up where Dr. Fisher left off by first stressing the locality of disease response and the need to move from the experts to a community response. Dr. Ogden spoke on social drivers of vulnerability and risk to HIV/AIDS infection. Though they do not show short term results on HIV incidence, she noted, they do reduce vulnerability and risk to infection and create communities of AIDS resilience and resistance. Dr. Bouey addressed the role of PEPFAR, reorienting from emergency treatment to long term prevention, and pointed out the importance of data monitoring and evaluation in addressing global AIDS.

The subsequent panel discussion addressed aspects of social determinants of vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and a social science approach to thinking about prevention. The panelists emphasized the benefits of a multi-disciplinary and multi-structural approach in the fight against AIDS. The discussion ended on a positive note with a recognition of the progress in the last 30 years and the current to make wide gains for the future.

aids2031 is a multidisciplinary consortium of partners that look at the first 30 years of response and 20 years in the future. After the first report of AIDS in 1981 through the AIDS response today. AIDS: Taking a Long-Term View takes that philosophy and discusses the current state of the pandemic, possible responses, and challenges to achieving maximum progress over the next twenty years. To learn more about aids2031 and AIDS: Taking a Long-Term View, click here.

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Announcements

Congressional and Major HIV Events Calendar for 2011
Jan 25 State of the Union Address
Washington, D.C.

Jan 27-28 Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA)*
Washington, D.C.

Feb 7 National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Feb 14 Administration Budget Release

Feb 15 Federal AIDS Policy Partnership Meeting
Washington, D.C.

Feb 16 – 18 NAPWA AIDSWatch 2011
Washington, D.C.

Mar 10 National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

May 18 HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (important to work under our HIV Vaccine Project grant)

Mar 20 National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

May 19 National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

June 8 Caribbean American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

June 27 National HIV Testing Day

Aug 14-17 2011 National HIV Prevention Conference
Atlanta, GA

Sept 11 - 13 Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Public Policy Conference
Washington, D.C.

Sept 18 National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day

Sept 21-24 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference
Washington, D.C.

Sept 27 National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Oct 15 National Latino HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Oct 29 – Nov 2 American Public Health Association 139th Annual Meeting & Exposition
Washington, D.C.

Nov 10-13 United States Conference on AIDS (AIDS United is a Partner Organization)
Chicago, IL

Dec 1 World AIDS Day

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