Medicaid 1115 Waiver for HIV is a Bridge to 2014

There’s a catch 22 when it comes to HIV and Medicaid.  Current law requires people living with HIV to wait until they are disabled by AIDS to qualify.  Wouldn’t it make sense, and save a lot of money,  if we treat people before they get disabled and keep them from becoming disabled?  Early treatment is cost effective and prevents transmission.

There is a way!!

It’s called a Section 1115 Waiver for Medicaid.  With this waiver a state, like Nebraska, could add flexibility to its Medicaid Program to cover low-income people living with HIV before they become disabled.  Not only does this help keep people healthier and prevent the progression to AIDS, but it’s COST EFFECTIVE.  It’s cheaper to care for and prevent people from progressing to AIDS that it is to pay for people who are already disabled.  If people are healthy, they can WORK and contribute to the economy.  Not only that, but a Nebraska doctor and researcher co-investigated the study proving treatment reduces the transmission of HIV by 96%! This is a no brainer in the fight to END AIDS.  Read our fact sheet and learn more here!

Guess what?  Nebraska lawmakers are hip to this idea!  State Senator Jeremy Nordquist (Omaha) has introduced a bill (LB891) that would initiate the process for Nebraska Medicaid to expand coverage to low-income people living with HIV through a Section 1115 Waiver.  Read it here.

What can you do?

It’s easy! Send an email to the members of the Health and Human Services Committee and ask them to advance LB 891.  This is an opportunity for Nebraska to take the lead in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Tell them!  Find their contact info here. The hearing for this bill is scheduled for 1:30pm on Wednesday, January 25th.

Stay tuned for updates in regard to this bill and the effort to get it passed in the Nebraska State Senate.  Take a minute to thank Senator Nordquist, as well as the other sponsors: Senators Conrad, Cook, Council, Howard, McGill and Mello, for taking a stand to care for those living with HIV/AIDS and leading Nebraska in the fight to END the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  Find their contact information here.

Please contact Jordan Delmundo at NAP with any questions: 402.552.9260 or jordand@nap.org

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On November 27th, KETV aired a feature on the 10pm news recognizing the growing number of young people living with HIV.  The report featured a Tommy Dennis, a young man living with HIV, explaining what it was like for him to learn about his diagnosis.  Tommy is taking and stand and is now dedicating his time to share his story and raise awareness.  Thank you to KETV and Melissa Fry for bringing awareness to the HIV epidemic in Nebraska.  See the report here.

The last 20 years have seen great progress in the battle against HIV/AIDS.  Innovative treatments and medications have changed what was an almost certain death sentence into a more manageable condition. Many AIDS Service Organizations, around the country, like NAP, continue to provide compassionate and empowering support to people living with HIV.

However, there is still much work to do.  Just because we have made progress against HIV does not mean the fight is over.  HIV continues to strike at every demographic group with more than 50,000 new infections diagnosed annually in the U.S.  Over 200,000 people in the U.S. have HIV and do not know it due to lack of education and the social stigma that surrounds HIV/AIDS.  Today there are approximately 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S.  Every 9 ½ minutes someone in the U.S. is diagnosed HIV positive.

Our biggest enemy is silence.  Misconceptions, fear and discrimination thrive in silence.  The conversation must shift from fear and discrimination to one of understanding and progress.  On this eve of World AIDS Day, let’s all be advocates and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS like Tommy.

*Please also understand that an increase in the number of young HIV+ people seeking services from NAP does not necessarily mean the rate of HIV infection among that age group is increasing.

Gary and Nakiea have been partnering with the Omaha Correctional Center Substance Abuse Unit (SAU) for over four years.  Every three months they would provide a minimum of four hours of HIV education to inmates involved in the SAU program’s re-entry phase.

From the award ceremony program:

They have maintained a commitment to offer extensive information that undoubtedly keeps inmate’ attention, as well as handouts and information regarding where inmates can go for a variety of free services when they are released.  Gary and Nakiea are very professional with a firm and consistent approach.  NAP’s commitment and dedication to the education fo our inmate population regarding such extremely important information is truly appreciated.

An estimated 530 walkers in Scottsbluff, Norfolk, Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney and Hastings participated in annual AIDS Walk across the state of Nebraska raising over $20,000. This statewide event raised a remarkable sum to support local HIV prevention, testing, and care services.

Kearney

Hastings

The funds raised by AIDS Walk Nebraska 2011 play a vital role in our efforts to radically reduce new HIV infections in Nebraska, ensure everybody knows their status, and make sure all people living with HIV/AIDS get the care they need. AIDS Walk Nebraska 2011 is about a community of people coming together not only to create something special, but also to make a substantial impact in the fight against HIV/AIDS across the entire state of Nebraska.

Lincoln

Scottsbluff

This year marks the 30th year since the first reported cases of AIDS in the United States. Currently 1.1 million people are living with HIV/AIDS nationwide, the highest number in the history of the epidemic. Every 3 ½ days in Nebraska, one more person is infected with HIV. Alarmingly, rates of new HIV infections are rising among gay and bisexual men, the only risk group for which this is the case.

The AIDS Walk joins everyone together across the state of Nebraska to support friends and loved ones living with the disease, to honor those we have lost, and to strive to end the AIDS epidemic.

Omaha

We give our deepest thanks and congratulations to the AIDS Walk Nebraska participants, volunteers and organizers.

The corporate community continues to show strong support of AIDS Walk Nebraska through team fundraising and major sponsorship. This year’s Sponsors include:

Scottsbluff Sponsors:
Calico Spirit
Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska
Regional West Medical Center
Hutt, Davis, Townsend, & Paz Psychological Services
Western Community Health Resources

Kearney Sponsors:
Good Samaritan Hospital
Blade Runner Salon
University Laundry
Kearney Clinic
Susan Bice with Century 21 Midlands
Geneva State Bank
Ashley Furniture Homestore

Hastings Sponsors:
Five Points Bank of Hastings
Family Medical Center of Hastings
Hastings State Bank
Mary Lanning Memorial Health Care

Norfolk Sponsors:
Norfolk GM Auto Center
Jazzercise
Quiznos
TNT Sports Bar and Grill
Sinful Delights

Lincoln Sponsors:
Hy-Vee
UNL Organization, Students for Sexual Health

Omaha Sponsors:
ConAgra
Scheels

Last May, the Nebraska Legislature passed LB 226, an “Assault with Bodily Fluids” bill that increases penalties for people living with HIV.  The passage of the “Assault with Bodily Fluids” bill in Nebraska ignores the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and the three decades long effort to educate Americans about HIV/AIDS and how HIV is transmitted.  The intent of the bill was to protect corrections and public safety officers in response to concerns from correctional facilities, but it falls short.  Any policy that misinforms public safety officers about HIV, and how it is transmitted, threatens their ability to fully protect themselves and is likely to increase the stigma surrounding HIV.  Governor Dave Heineman signed the bill into law on May 24th.

Laws keep us safe, but they also have the power to educate.  By insinuating that “any bodily fluid” can transmit HIV, this law trashes 30 years of educational efforts, not to mention the millions of public dollars spent, to encourage people to get tested and teach them that HIV is not transmitted by casual contact (spitting, sharing a drink, etc).  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only breast milk, blood, vaginal secretions, semen and spinal fluid contain enough HIV to be infectious.  Transmission is only possible if one of these fluids enters the body through a mucosal membrane. This law contains vague, unclear and especially incorrect statements about the risk of HIV transmission which will create confusion and lead to increased fear and stigma.  Why not make this law as accurate as possible by naming those actual fluids that transmit HIV? Why not state the actual routes of transmission? Why have this HIV exceptionalism anyway?  Nowhere in the 30 year history of the AIDS epidemic has a corrections officer been infected by the routes described in this law.  According to the Nebraska Department of Corrections, there are only 19 people living with HIV in its entire system.

The intent of this law is worthy.  We should protect those who protect us, but not at the expense of misinforming public safety officers (and the general public) of the actual risks or how to protect themselves.   This law undercuts the most basic HIV prevention messages and breeds fear against people living with HIV.

In the near future, we hope lawmakers in Nebraska will reconsider their actions and answer the call of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.  This would be a major and forward thinking step to educate the public about how HIV is truly transmitted and eliminate the stigma surrounding HIV.  Nebraska AIDS Project is committed to fighting HIV/AIDS and its stigma.  We will continue to advocate for scientifically accurate laws and public policies that bring us closer to ending this epidemic.

Jordan Delmundo

Public Policy Manager

Nebraska AIDS Project

BACKGROUND:

• Last week, Congressional negotiations to reduce the federal deficit hit a roadblock, putting at risk critical services upon which millions of Americans rely, including persons living with HIV/AIDS.
• The Ryan White Program, Medicaid, housing, prevention and other programs that make up the social safety net for vulnerable Americans with HIV/AIDS are on the line.
• Congressional leadership is negotiating an agreement to reduce the deficit and set new spending limits now. It is scheduled to vote on this isssue sometime before August 2nd.

ACTION NEEDED:

Please call Congressional Leadership and President Obama and tell them to prevent harmful cuts and caps to health care and low-income programs, including those that impact persons with HIV/AIDS, in negotiations to reduce the deficit.  Please help make these critical calls now!

• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), 202-224-3542
• House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), 202-225-0600
• President Barack Obama, 202-456-1111 (Please note that it may take a few minutes to be connected to a live operator with whom you can leave a message.  These calls MUST be placed before 5:00PM EST – the White House comment line closes for the day at that time.)

MESSAGE:

Please call the offices listed above with this message: I am calling to ask Senator Reid/Speaker Boehner/President Obama to prevent harmful cuts and caps to health care and low-income programs, including those that impact persons living with HIV/AIDS, such as the Ryan White Program, Medicaid, housing and prevention programs!

• Balancing the budget on the backs of vulnerable Americans, including those living with HIV, is wrong, will potentially cost lives, and will cut jobs in the health care and human needs sectors.
• Early and reliable access to HIV care, treatment, and support helps people with HIV live healthy and productive lives and is cost effective. Investing in HIV prevention today translates into greater health and less spending in the future.
• In my state/district, such programs are greatly needed, because (insert local details or tell personal story).

If you have questions, please contact NAP’s Public Policy Manager, Jordan Delmundo, at 402-552-9260.

Thank you!!!

On Saturday, July 30th between 9am and 3pm, Nebraska AIDS Project will have a Goodwill truck in our south parking lot to accept any usable items you no longer need.  The more stuff we collect, the more vouchers Goodwill provides to our clients! Our clients can use these vouchers to purchase much needed clothes and other necessities at Goodwill stores.

Anything usable will be accepted!

Please consider donating your extra stuff to benefit people living with HIV/AIDS!  Tell your friends!

For more information, contact Taylor at 402-552-9260.