PI Action alerts & updates ... 2003

Bipartisan Support for Early Treatment for HIV Act is Stronger Than Ever

Urge Republican House Members to Join Their Colleagues as Cosponsors

Support and momentum for the Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA) is growing stronger than ever, as nine House Republicans have now signed on as original cosponsors (see list below). This is the largest number of Republicans who have ever signed on as ETHA cosponsors.

ETHA is a bill pending in Congress that would allow states to extend Medicaid coverage to include low-income, pre-disabled people living with HIV. Current Medicaid eligibility requirements are so strict that many low-income people living with HIV are unable to qualify for the program until they become disabled by AIDS. This legislation would allow early access to care and treatment for thousands of low-income people living with HIV. It would also help relieve the fiscal burden on other (less stable) safety net care and treatment programs like the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).

This House bill is expected to be introduced by lead sponsors Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Jim Leach (R-IA) in the next few weeks. We still need more House Republicans to sign on as original cosponsors so that the bill can be introduced with strong bipartisan support. Last week, Representatives Leach and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) sent a letter to their Republican colleagues on behalf of those already signed on and urged for more cosponsors. You can help by asking your Representative to respond to that letter.

Please take a few minutes to help with this final push for original cosponsors!

How you can help:
If your House Representative is a Republican, please call his/her DC office as soon as possible, and no later than Friday, November 14. Ask to speak to the legislative aide who handles HIV and healthcare issues. Urge your Representative to be an original cosponsor of ETHA. You can use the following sample phone script to help craft your message.

If your Representative is not a Republican, you can still make a difference by contacting someone you know who does have a Republican House Representative and urge him/her to take action on this Alert. When the bill is introduced, we will send another Alert urging people to contact all their elected officials, regardless of party affiliation.

Sample phone message:

“I am a constituent of Representative ________________. I understand that your office has received a letter from Representatives Leach, Ros-Lehtinen, and five other colleagues urging you to cosponsor the Early Treatment for HIV Act. This bill would allow states to extend Medicaid coverage to include pre-disabled people living with HIV. It is cost-effective and humane, and I urge Representative ____________ to sign on as an early cosponsor of this bill.”

Contact information
You can call your Representative toll-free by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 1-877-762-8762. You’ll need to know their name and ask to be transferred. Don’t know who your Representative is? Go to www.vote-smart.org for help.

Current Republican co-sponsors:
Representatives
Jim Leach (R-IA),
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL),
Mary Bono (R-CA),
Sue Kelly (R-NY),
Robert Simmons (R-CT),
Christopher Shays (R-CT),
Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ),
Mark Foley (R-FL),
Mark Kirk (R-IL)
For more information about ETHA, go to the Treatment Access Expansion Project’s website, www.taepusa.org.

Thank you for taking action!