Health Care Reform Bill

Action needed:

Debate Begins Today

Help We Need!

• Allows states the option to immediately provide Medicaid coverage to people living with HIV who have not yet become disabled by AIDS (Early Treatment for HIV Act)
• Allows AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) expenditures to count towards True Out-of-Pocket expenses in the Medicare Part D program.
• A strong public insurance option
• Medicaid coverage for individuals and families with income up to the 150% of the federal poverty level
• Prohibition against discrimination based on health status in the private insurance market
• Subsidies and limits on how much a person has to pay out-of-pocket to help keep health insurance affordable
• Ends the Medicare Part D “donut hole”
• Investments to strengthen the clinical workforce, address prevention and wellness, and reduce health disparities
• Reforms of the private insurance market to better protect consumers

We can’t wait any longer.

The House must pass H.R. 3962 so we can move even further toward a final bill to be signed by President Obama. Opponents of true health reform are weighing in daily and we must demonstrate that the majority of Americans want this bill. Please take a few minutes to do your part and call or email your House Representative and urge him/her to vote YES on H.R. 3962.

New York HIV Case Management

For HIV+ people - insured or not insured or barely insured or having trouble with co-payments or accessing what you need because you're broke. No fee, charge or insurance required. Apply for ADAP, ADAP Plus, APIC, Medicaid, Sustainable Living Fund and other programs for HIV-positive New Yorkers. E-mail us at The Network, or call our toll-free number at (800) 734-7104 for help getting treatment or co-payment assistance, housing relief, insurance or benefits assistance, health care, living expenses, food, dealing with hepatitis co-infection, legal referrals and counseling. HIV+ people anywhere in the New York City area welcome to join.

The Access Project

The Access Project - If you need assistance with ADAP, Medicaid, Medicare, State Insurance Programs, viral hepatitis (hepatitis C or B), or other state resources please first visit The Access Project page for your state. Let us know if you need information with drug co-payments, a Patient Assistance Program, a drug discount card, or less expensive prescription drug prices. Please use the Request Assistance form.

HIV Meds Co-Payment Assistance

Some people with commercial insurance are having a really tough time paying the co-payments required when they get their medications. Now, some drug companies have programs that cover the co-payments for HIV medications. In New York, call us toll-free or e-mail us and we will either get you enrolled on the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) or Medicaid, or help you get your commercial health insurance premium or co-payments covered, find you health care through an ADAP Plus provider, or just explain your options. Call 1-800-734-7104 or escriba a Maximo

Viramune Co-Payment Program Starts

Recognizing that many people are having a difficult time paying for needed medications to treat HIV and keep it a typically manageable condition, most pharmaceutical companies involved with HIV/AIDS have created programs to assist those individuals who take their drugs. The AIDS Treatment Data Network lists all these drugs, and updates related information on an ongoing basis.

The most recent drug company to announce such a program is Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals. Viramune (nevirapine) tablets and the oral suspension are included. A Master Card debit card worth $50 towards Viramune can be used once a month for up to one year. The cards are accepted at pharmacies, including mail order pharmacies, and are easy to get from your health care provider.

The card needs to be activated by logging onto www.viramune.com or by calling toll-free at 1-888-99-VIRAMUNE (1-888-998-4726).

• Request Assistance
• HIV Treatments
• Hepatitis Treatments
• The Access Project
• Patient Assistance Programs
• Facebook Cause

New York Hepatitis C Hotline

The New York State Department of Health (DOH) has launched a statewide public awareness campaign to urge New Yorkers to learn about the hepatitis C virus and to take appropriate preventive steps. A toll-free English/Spanish hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide basic hepatitis C information, locations for testing and hepatitis A and B vaccination, and other resources available to consumers. The hotline number is 1-800-522-5006.

For consumer-based information about the liver, visit NIDDK's National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC) online at www.digestive.niddk.nih.gov

The Hepatitis C Appropriations Partnership (HCAP) has provided a very comprehensive plan for what they (which includes over 100 organizations throughout the country) would like to see accomplished in the new administration. It's a national viral hepatitis strategy (PDF)

There are many new drug combinations being studied for HCV treatment. They typically include peginterferon and ribavirn, a drug combination that is approved for the treatment of Hepatitis C as well as Hepatitis C in people who also have HIV. Clinical trials of experimental HCV treatments are listed

Hepatitis Patient Assistance Programs

Sometimes you must look for programs to cover the costs of your treatments or care. You might need to try a hepatitis treatment Patient Assistance Program. The pharmaceutical industry has set up programs that offer medications for free, or sometimes at a very low price. E-mail us for a specific drug or company's program. There are also other options we can suggest, such as savings cards or retail promotions at large chain stores.

2009 Federal Poverty Guidelines

The 2009 Federal Poverty Guidelines have been released to the Federal Register. These guidelines help determine eligibility for a great number of programs.