PI Action alerts & updates ... 2003

TAN Update

Below is a message of thanks from the Medicaid Defense Group to everyone who made a phone call, added their name to a sign-on letter or wrote their own letter in response to the many challenges posed to Medicaid this year.

As you’ll read in the letter, we were able to win some very important victories to help protect this vital healthcare program. In this very difficult economic and political environment, it’s nice to step back and see what can be accomplished when our community stands firm and speaks out! Congratulations and thanks to all of you for your efforts!

Dear Friends,

We are writing to thank you for all your efforts this year to help defend Medicaid. It has been a roller coaster ride ever since January, when President Bush made his Medicaid “Modernization” proposal to block grant Medicaid. With your hard work and expertise, we were able to fight this proposal every step of the way. Given the amazing victories we were able to achieve under such difficult circumstances, we wanted to provide a brief summary of what has happened so far and where we stand now.

As the result of your phone calls, letters, and meetings with elected officials, in collaboration with other healthcare advocates from around the country, we were able to:

• Remove a $95 Billion/Ten Year mandatory cut to Medicaid in the Federal Budget Resolution, contained in the House of Representatives’ version of the Bill.
• Include $20 Million temporary state fiscal relief in tax cut legislation. This included $10 Million provided directly to Medicaid programs through a temporary increase in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP). Our sign-on letter with 220 AIDS/HIV organizations helped made this a reality. The final letter with a list of signers can be found at: www.idsociety.org
• Prevent the National Governors Association’s Medicaid Task Force from reaching a consensus on block granting Medicaid in exchange for more state control of the program. A bi-partisan agreement from the NGA would have given House Republicans tremendous power to push ahead with the President’s proposal.
• Get a joint letter from 48 Senators which opposes any capped federal funding for Medicaid. This letter sends a strong signal that any Bill containing capped Medicaid funding will be very unlikely to pass the Senate.

Made no mistake, every one of these victories was hard won, the outcomes we achieved were far from certain. Indeed, as stated in the letter issued by Republicans on the NGA Medicaid Task Force:

“this endeavor has not been without critics. As a result of the increasing pressure, some of our colleagues have concluded that they are unable to complete the work of the task force.”

Where we Stand Now:
The Bush Administration and its allies in Congress are still pushing ahead with its block grant proposal despite mounting opposition. The House Republicans have now formed its own Medicaid Reform Task Force. It is expected to start holding hearings in late summer/early fall. For the time being, it looks like Medicaid will not see legislative action in the summer. We will keep you updated when things start to heat up again.

If you would like to be involved in the organizing and strategizing process with the Medicaid Defense Working Group, please send an email to theaccessproject@aol.com We are now an 85 member ad-hoc working group defending Medicaid. We will be sending out Thank You letters to our allies in Congress and to Democratic Governors for their help in saving this critical health care program for people living with HIV and AIDS. We encourage you to do the same with your elected officials as well. We will be needing their help again in the near future.

Thanks,

From the Federal Medicaid Defense Group, an ad-hoc joint effort by local, state and national HIV/AIDS organizations, including consumers, providers and advocates, to keep Medicaid strong.

Medicaid Defense Working Group Members
Action AIDS - Kevin Conard, Philadelphia, PA
AIDS Action Baltimore - Lynda Dee, MD
AIDS Action - Scott Brawley, Washington DC
AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth & Families - Mark Del Monte, Michael Stevens, DC
AIDS Foundation of Chicago - David Ernesto Munar , IL
The AIDS Foundation of St. Louis - Thomas Adams, MO
AIDS Healthcare Foundation - Cesar Portillo, Joey Wynn, CA
AIDS Medicare Project - Randy Allgaier, CA
AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition - Jen Curry, Eric Goldman, Bob Roehr, Tracy Swan
AIDS Treatment Data Network - Lei Chou, Daniel Kubert, New York, NY
Blacks Assisting Blacks Against AIDS - Kelly Righton, St. Louis, MO
Cascade AIDS Project - Thomas Bruner, Portland, OR
Colorado PWA Coalition - Daniel Garcia, Denver CO
Community AIDS Resource & Education Services of Southwest Michigan - Cyril C. Colonius, Kalamazoo, MI
Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization for Power/CHAMP - Julie Davids, Director, NY, PA
Dayspring AIDS Support Services (DASS) - Sharon Pree, Augusta, ME
Eastern Virginia Medical School - Patti Taylor, VA
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation - Jeanne Ireland, Washington DC
Florida AIDS Action - Gene Copello, Amanda Diers, FL
Florida Keys HIV Community Planning Partnership - David Brakebill, Key West, FL
Foundation for Integrative AIDS Research - George M. Carter, Brooklyn, NY
Gay Men’s Health Crisis - David Wunsch, Laura Caruso, Gregg Gonsalvez, NY
George Washington University - Jeff Levi, Washington DC
Georgetown University - Jeff Crowley, Tim Westmoreland, Washington DC
Health Policy Consulting - Tanya Ehrmann, Washington DC
HIV Goddess Project - Sharon Solpher, Wisconsin
HIV Medicine Association - Christine Lubinski, Andrea Weddle, VA
Housing Works Inc. - Michael Kink, Albany, NY
Human Rights Watch - Rebecca Schleifer, NY
Hyacinth AIDS Foundation - Matthew Franck, NJ
International AIDS Empowerment - Skip Rosenthal, El Paso, TX
Kaiser Family Foundation - Jennifer Kates, Washington DC
Kentucky AIDS Life Alliance (KALA) - Daniel Coe, KY
Louisiana Hemophilia Foundation - Lori Keels, Baton Rouge, LA
Maine Primary Care Association - Martin Sabol, Augusta, ME
Michigan Advocates Exchange, Inc. - Kendra S. Kleber, Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197
Midwest AIDS Prevention Project - Mark Peterson, Ferndale, MI
National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors/NASTAD - Danielle Davis, Murray Penner, Laura Hanen, Chris Aldridge
National Health Law Program - Laurence Lavin, Randy Boyle, Steve Hitov
National Minority AIDS Council - Javier G. Salazar, Washington, DC
New York Immigration Coalition - Adam Gurvitch, NY, NY
North Idaho AIDS Coalition (NIAC) - Keith Wolter, Coeur d’Alene, ID
NYC AIDS Housing Network - Jennifer Flynn, Co-Director, Brooklyn, NY
Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS (PACHA) - David Greer, Jim Driscol, Brent Minor
Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force - Bob Feikema, Nancy Commella, PA
Project Inform - Ryan Clary, Anne Donnelly, CA, Alicia Dithmart/Iowa
San Francisco AIDS Foundation - Ernest Hopkins, CA
Shelly Singer - Medicaid Consumer, CA
South Carolina AIDS Advocacy Network - Karen Bates, SC
Southwest C.A.R.E. Center - David Barrett, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Test Positive Aware Network - Charles Clifton, Chicago, IL
Title II Community AIDS National Network - Bill Arnold, Dan Schreiner, Tom McCormack, Washington, DC
Treatment Access Expansion Project - Robert Greenwald, MA
Treatment Action Group - Rob Camp, NY
Vermont People with AIDS Coalition - D. Lee Works, Montpelier, Vermont
Virginia Commonwealth University HIV/AIDS Center - Danielle Terrell-Khan, VA
Whitman Walker Clinic - Michael Cover, Washington DC