Early Treatment for HIV Included in House Health Bill
June 22, 2009
This just in from Rep. Eliot Engel's office... legislation known as the Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA) has been included in the House version of a major health care reform bill. Sadly, many low income, HIV positive people are not eligible for Medicaid coverage until they develop full blown AIDS and ETHA would allow them to get the care they need before their illness progresses. HRC has been working to include this important measure as part of the health care debate currently ongoing on Capitol Hill. Read Congressman Engel's full release after the jump... For immediate release: Monday, June 22, 2009
EARLY TREATMENT FOR HIV ACT INCLUDED IN HOUSE HEALTH BILL Engel/Pelosi/Ros-Lehtinen bill saves money and lives Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) announces that legislation he sponsored, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), has been included in the House Health Reform Draft bill. The Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA) will allow states to extend Medicaid coverage to low-income individuals with the HIV virus before it advances to full-blown AIDS. Currently, most lower-income persons must first become disabled by AIDS before receiving Medicaid-provided care and treatment, which could have kept them healthy. ETHA brings Medicaid eligibility rules in line with federal government guidelines on the standard of care for treating HIV. The inclusion of ETHA in the health reform bill, in conjunction with the House's proposal to cover all low-income people under the Medicaid program up to 133% of the federal poverty level, is a significant step towards reducing the number of uninsured people with HIV in our country. The measure has support from the three committee chairmen who have authored the House Health Reform Draft bill – Energy & Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, Ways & Means Chairman Charles Rangel and Education & Labor Chairman George Miller – as well as House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Currently, there are 118 bipartisan members co-sponsoring similar legislation. Rep. Engel, a senior member of the Health Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee said, “The inclusion of ETHA in the House health reform proposal is the result of years of tireless work and advocacy by a broad coalition of stakeholders, including one of ETHA's greatest champions, Speaker Pelosi. It is exactly the type of common-sense measure we need to include as we craft comprehensive health reform legislation. Treating patients with HIV before the disease progresses to full-blown AIDS is not only more cost-effective for our health care system, but more importantly, it will also save lives while preserving the quality of life for thousands of persons living with HIV." ETHA has been endorsed by leading public health and advocacy groups including the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, the AIDS Institute, Human Rights Campaign, AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth and Families, Treatment Access Expansion Project, the New York City AIDS Coalition and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. ETHA also has the endorsement from New York Governor David Paterson. (For a full list of endorsements, see the list below) “It’s just unimaginable today that Medicaid doesn’t automatically cover poor people with HIV in our country,” said Carl Schmid, Director of Federal Affairs for The AIDS Institute. “When current Medicaid rules were written, people with HIV quickly progressed to AIDS, but with the advent of antiretroviral drug treatment, people with HIV can remain healthy for years. It makes no sense to wait until people have full blown AIDS before they can access medical care and drug treatment through Medicaid. With earlier treatment they can remain healthy and at the same time reduce costs in the long term. Enactment of this provision will bring the Medicaid system up to current healthcare and treatment standards.” “Including ETHA in health care reform is the right thing to do. Providing early intervention and access to treatment will benefit HIV-positive Americans, improving their quality of life by reducing the number of infections and lowering viral loads. It is necessary to help fight the AIDS epidemic and to save lives,” said HRC (Human Rights Campaign) President, Joe Solmonese. ETHA gives states the option of amending the Medicaid eligibility requirements to include uninsured, pre-disabled low-income people living with HIV. Participating states would receive an enhanced federal matching rate, the same that is provided through the breast and cervical cancer Medicaid project and S-CHIP. William E. Arnold, CEO Community Access National Network (CANN) said, “It has taken years of work to finally get ETHA folded into serious health care reform legislation. This medically-desirable and cost-effective legislation is most welcome and we salute the leadership of Speaker Pelosi, Representatives Engel and Ros-Lehtinen and Chairman Rangel for their long-standing leadership and commitment to HIV-positive Americans.” “ETHA addresses a cruel irony in the current Medicaid system—that under current Medicaid rules, people must become disabled by AIDS before they can receive access to Medicaid-provided care that could have prevented them from becoming so ill in the first place,” commented Robert Greenwald, Executive Director of the Treatment Access Expansion Project. “The inclusion of ETHA, which was first introduced in the 104thCongress, comes at a critical time when states are facing devastating budget cuts and federal contributions for HIV/AIDS care and treatment have failed to keep up with need,” said Julie Scofield, Executive Director of the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors.” “ETHA provides a solution to states to increase health care access to low-income Americans living with HIV.” Rep. Engel said, “By keeping people healthy, the government will save money on expensive medical interventions, such as emergency care or hospitalizations. Also, new medications now allow people with HIV to remain in the workforce longer, and reduce the need for support from government income subsidy programs like SSI and SSDI. Most importantly, there will be a substantial decrease in lives lost to this terrible disease.”
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