PI Action alerts & updates ... 2005
Project Inform Advocacy Update
February 2005
In this Issue
Join the 2005 Campaign to End AIDS
Advocates Gear Up for Medicaid Battle
Meanwhile, Things Aren’t Much Better At the State
Level
Ryan White CARE Act Reauthorization Advocacy in Full
Swing
California State Budget Update
Events
Check This Out
Quote of the Month
Join the 2005 Campaign to End AIDS
In early January, people from around the country met in Washington,
DC to plan actions that would revitalize the AIDS grassroots movement
and demand that Congress and the Bush Administration make domestic
and global HIV/AIDS issues a priority.
The group decided to focus on two events, with an overall title
of “Campaign to End AIDS”. It will first expand participation
in AIDSWATCH, an annual constituent lobbying event in Washington,
DC. To be held May 2–5, 2005. The second event will be a series
of protests, peaceful rallies and other community-mobilizing activities
in Washington.
You can learn more about this effort, and get involved in one of
the working groups, by going to www.aidsmarch.org. Working groups
discuss through a listserv and toll-free conference calls. To get
on the main listserv for the Campaign, send an email to aidsmarch-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
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Advocates Gear Up for Medicaid Battle
As we reported in our last update, 2005 threatens to be a very difficult
year for Medicaid. It has been reported that the program has been
targeted for cuts and “reforms” at the federal level
and many states have already put forward drastic cuts in their programs.
Senator Judd Gregg, Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, recently
predicted that Republican lawmakers would be looking to cut federal
Medicaid spending.
Fortunately, there are strong efforts to protect the program. The
nation’s Governors have recently sent a bipartisan letter
urging President Bush not to shift additional Medicaid costs to
the states. The Senate Democrats also unanimously signed a letter
(along with Senator Jeffords, an Independent from Vermont) to the
President opposing a cap on federal funding for the program.
Advocates have been weighing in on the issue as well. The HIV Medicaid/Medicare
Working Group recently sent a community sign-on letter with 280
organizations standing firm against funding cuts or harmful changes
to the program. Families USA, a leading Washington-based healthcare
advocacy group has sent its own letter () signed by healthcare advocates
throughout the country.
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Meanwhile, Things Aren’t Much Better
At the State Level
Several states have recently announced severe cuts or “reforms”
to their Medicaid programs, while only the Washington DC program
announced an expansion to serve HIV-positive people before they
progress to disability. Some of the more threatening proposals are
in Tennessee and Florida.
Tennessee’s Governor Phil Bresdesen has announced that he
will drop 323,000 adults from TennCare, the state’s expanded
Medicaid program, while preserving care for their children. The
state is also pursuing a number of perceived cost-saving measures
including a return to managed care, a formulary that would encourage
the use of generic drugs whenever possible, and the use of care
and disease management practices. For more information about TennCare,
go here.
Meanwhile, Florida’s Governor Jeb Bush has unveiled a plan
to “reform” Florida’s Medicaid program, although
it appears not to have been well-received by leaders of the state’s
Legislature. The program would privatize much of Medicaid, forcing
beneficiaries to choose among a mix of limited packages or opt out
of the system altogether and attempt to use their state paid premiums
to purchase insurance in the private market. For people served by
Medicaid, this plan represents a real threat that they will find
their coverage much less comprehensive, possibly much less affordable
and certainly much more confusing. More information regarding the
proposal can be found at www.empoweredcare.com.
Ryan White CARE Act Reauthorization Advocacy in Full Swing
The Ryan White CARE Act, which funds vital HIV/AIDS care, treatment,
and support services, will expire on September 30, 2005 and needs
to be reauthorized. Advocates, including Project Inform, have made
reauthorization of the CARE Act a top priority for this year.
Many organizations and coalitions are finalizing their position
papers with recommendations on what the reauthorized CARE Act should
look like. In the meantime, the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership’s
“Ryan White CARE Act Reauthorization Working Group”,
a coalition of national and local organizations focusing on the
issue, have created a sign-on letter that declares strong support
for reauthorization and outlines some core principles about the
CARE Act. The working group is also meeting with key members of
Congress who will be involved in drafting reauthorization legislation.
Project Inform will engage in reauthorization efforts through our
involvement with the working group, as well as membership in the
CAEAR Coalition, a national coalition that advocates on CARE Act
Titles I and III and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. We will also
educate and mobilize the community during the process through Alerts
and updates. It will be essential that Congress hears directly from
those most affected by this lifesaving program.
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California State Budget Update
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has fully funded the AIDS Drug Assistance
Program in his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2005–06. He
is providing a $29 million increase over last year, in spite of
a significant state budget deficit. Other HIV/AIDS programs were
flat funded. The Governor’s budget proposal also contained
his plan for redesigning Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program).
For more detail, see Project Inform’s press release on the
state budget.
Project Inform will work with our partners in California to ensure
that the Legislature approves the Governor’s ADAP funding
proposal, and to address our concerns about the Medi-Cal redesign
as it goes forward.
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Upcoming Events:
Project Inform’s Website Calendar.
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Check This Out:
Housing Works www.housingworks.org
is one of Project Inform’s key partners in federal advocacy.
Their website contains substantial information about AIDS issues
and ways to get involved. You can also learn about the Keith Cylar
Activist Fund, created in the memory of the Housing Works cofounder
who passed away last year. This fund will provide people with HIV/AIDS
with training and support so they can become effective advocates.
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Quote of the Month
“I have consistently opposed any proposal to cap federal spending
or utilize block grants for the Medicaid program. At a time when
many states are raising taxes in order to meet their state Medicaid
obligation, it would be devastating if the federal government restricted
its payments.”
– Senator Susan Collins (R-ME),
Bangor Daily News, January 17, 2005
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