Press room
Project Inform Applauds Introduction
of Early Treatment for HIV Act
March 15, 2007
San Francisco, CA—Project Inform, a national
health care and treatment advocacy organization, applauds this week’s
introduction of the Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA). This bill,
authored by Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY),
would allow states the option of providing Medicaid coverage to
low-income people with HIV. The bill also provides enhanced funding
to states that choose to implement this expansion.
Currently, in most cases, a person needs to be disabled under the
Social Security definition before being eligible for Medicaid. ETHA
would allow low income people with HIV to access the federally defined
standard of HIV care by giving them treatment and care before they
become sick. A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study found that, over
a ten year period, ETHA would reduce the death rate of people with
HIV on Medicaid by 50%.
“Early access to treatment and care is crucial for low income
people with HIV and allows them to remain healthy and productive
for years,” said Ryan Clary, Associate Director of Health
Care Advocacy. “ETHA corrects a serious flaw in the Medicaid
system and makes sure that people can get the care they need before
becoming sick.”
ETHA would also help reduce the burden on the Ryan White CARE Act,
a discretionary health care program that serves low-income people
with HIV/AIDS who are uninsured or underinsured. The CARE Act has
suffered from years of inadequate funding, forcing many states to
implement waiting lists and other barriers for treatment and care
services. If ETHA is passed and implemented by the states, many
people served by the CARE Act would be able to access their care
through Medicaid.
Project Inform thanks Senators Smith and Clinton for their leadership
and commitment to people living with HIV/AIDS. We will work with
our advocacy partners, including the Treatment Access Expansion
Project and the HIV Medicaid/Medicare Working Group, to ensure passage
of this vital legislation. We encourage people who are interested
in advocating for passage of ETHA to join our national grassroots
network, PI Action.
