Archive for December, 2011
Moving Seniors & People with Disabilities into Managed Care
In late 2010, California got approval for an 1115 Medicaid waiver. Two important provisions affected people with HIV, the Low Income Health Programs (LIHPs), which we will write more about in upcoming blogs, and the initiative to move people with disabilities and seniors from fee-for-service Medi-Cal into mandatory managed care. Although a few counties in [...]
Essential Health Benefits: What’s it mean for people with HIV?
On December 16, 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that states would decide what essential health benefits will be provided under health care reform. Although we had urged HHS to adopt a uniform, national benefits floor that states could build on, the federal proposal offers important flexibility for states. (Check [...]
Webinar Recording & Slides: Is no deal a good deal? Deficit Reduction, HIV Services & What Comes Next
Missed the Dec. 15, 2011 webinar on deficit reduction? Don’t worry – you can download the slides and watch the recording (BTW, the first speaker is Malinda Elwood of Harvard Law School Center for Health Law & Policy Innovation Treatment Access Expansion Project (TAEP)… the gremlins made us start the recording a little late!). The [...]
Act Now to Weigh in on the Essential Health Benefits Package
Your action can help ensure the Essential Health Benefits package advances comprehensive and affordable health care. There is still time to weigh in on the “Essential Health Benefits package” established through health care reform. This package is so important because it will determine the benefits that are available to people with HIV, Viral Hepatitis, and [...]
Resources for Immigrants Living with HIV
Earlier this fall San Francisco State University and San Francisco AIDS Foundation held a day long policy retreat to share the initial findings of their joint research project titled “Proyecto Accesso” that seeks to better understand where and how HIV positive Latinos in the San Francisco Bay Area access care. A lot of the discussions [...]
Sign on to the “I Am Essential” Coalition
We believe that organizations who serve the most vulnerable groups in the United States should have a say in what the government calls “essential”. Recognizing an absence of the patient voice in the essential benefits debate, patient advocacy groups representing those who live with chronic diseases and disability have joined together to launch the “I AM ESSENTIAL” campaign. The [...]
Candy Canes for Congress
We know some members of the U.S. House who are getting an extra candy cane in their stockings this year! We want to thank the over 50 House members who came together on December 5 and urged U.S. Department of Health and Human Service Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to address the needs of people with HIV [...]
Health Reform Benefits Package: A Charlie Brown Christmas tree won’t cut it for people with HIV
Remember Charlie Brown’s famous Christmas tree? With just one ornament, it just didn’t cut it. We’re working hard to make sure people with HIV aren’t in same situation when health reform is rolled out nationally. The federal government will announce in early 2012 what basic health benefits should be included in health reform plans. It’s [...]
Politico Opinion: “What’s an ‘essential benefit’ for AIDS?”
Our colleague Carl Schmid from The AIDS Institute published a great editorial over at Politico.com on essential essential health benefits for people with HIV. Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day, when we remember the nearly 30 million people who have lost their lives to AIDS — both here in the U.S. and around the world. [...]