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People with HIV still barred from entering the U.S.

Fair Pricing Coalition announces campaign results.

President Bush signs bill to triple funds for AIDS

People with HIV still barred from entering the U.S.

The Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP) reports that a ban on HIV-positive visitors and immigrants to the U.S. is still in place. According to a CHAMP press release, “You’ve likely hard the good news that the President has just signed a global AIDS bill that lifts the 15-year-long statutory ban on the entry of people with HIV/AIDS to the United States. But contrary to popular belief, the ban itself has not been lifted! [Emphasis in the original.] Rather, it’s being changed from a statutory ban to an administrative ban.” The press release goes on to explain that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has the authority to decide on a case-by-case basis if an individual’s HIV-positive status is grounds for denying them entry to the country. CHAMP directs people to a post at AIDS2008.com for an entry by Director of Policy and Leadership Development Coco Jervis on this topic. The New York City-based national organization rallied HIV service providers to sign on to a letter to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, urging him to truly lift the ban. Organization endorsements should be sent to Danny Alicea, dalicea@immigrationequality.org, by Thursday, August 7, 5 p.m. EST

Fair Pricing Coalition announces campaign results

The Fair Pricing Coalition (FPC) today announced interim results of its campaign to stabilize drug prices and reduce the burden of co-pays. In a press release, the ad hoc group of community-based activists reported that “we’ve made real progress with a number of the major companies working in HIV and we’re optimistic about reaching agreement with the others.” FPC spokesperson Lynda Dee, of AIDS Action Baltimore and the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition (ATAC), said in the release, “Flat funding is predicted for federal programs, particularly the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), despite a growing caseload. Additionally, we know that patients with private insurance are increasingly being hit with higher and higher co-pays for each prescription drug they purchase. These co-pays sometimes cost insured patients more than $200 each month for a single prescription. This is unacceptable. These news Drugs may be saving lives, but they’re killing people financially.” Read the release here

President Bush signs bill to triple funds for AIDS

The Associated Press (AP) reports that President Bush signed legislation on July 30 that triples the funding in PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief). PEPFAR provides dollars for the treatment of AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis around the world. In the past, some of the money for PEPFAR has been promised, but not given. Also, the program is controversial for refusing to donate to organizations that have anything to do at all with abortion – even information, and stipulated that a significant amount of funds would go to abstinence-only education. AP reported that the new legislation renews the five, year, $15 billion program, and quoted the President as saying that the goal of the funding is to prevent 12 million infections, treat more than 2 million individuals with anti-HIV medication, support care for 12 million, and train at least 140,000 new health care workers.

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