Advocates Call on Congress to Address Needs of Women Affected by HIV/AIDS in Health Care Reform Package (2009)

On August 21, 2009, a coalition of advocates representing women living affected by HIV/AIDS called on the Senate and House of Representatives to address the urgent need for health care reform that specifically addresses the needs of all women affected by HIV/AIDS.

The advocates demand, in their letters, that Congress prohibit health insurance exclusions and ratings based on health status gender and age; improve Medicaid and Medicare services for people living with HIV/AIDS; include a strong public health insurance option in the final health care reform bill; protect women's access to comprehensive reproductive care and HIV prevention efforts; and textend and fully fund the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act.T he letters to Congress were endorsed by 14 organizations, including the African Services Committee, AIDS Alabama, the Alliance of AIDS Services, the Center for HIV Law and Policy, CHAMP, the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), the HIV Law Project, the International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW), the National AIDS Fund, the National Women and AIDS Collective (NWAC), Sisterlove, Inc., The U.S. Positive Women's Network (PWN), The Women's Collective, and Women Organized to Respond to Life-threatening Disease (WORLD).

Earlier this month,this same group led the call, in a letter to the Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy and other White House officials, tfor meaningful inclusion of people living with HIV in development of a national AIDS strategy through inclusion of community advisory groups in the government task force being formed to develop the strategy.