ADAP Watch March 12, 2012

by D Gregory Smith

From our friends at NAPWA:

 

The President has called for The End of AIDS in America, and that means an end to ADAP waiting lists. Everyone who needs HIV antiretroviral medicines should be getting them, and we can reduce long-term health care costs by making sure they do.
This is an extraordinarily difficult political climate, though, so we don’t expect much movement on the waiting lists until after the elections. We’re grateful to the Administration for the new money that brought the counts down from 9,000-plus to just under 4,000, and we think it’s time for states like Virginia and Georgia to join the Administration and pay their fair share. Belly up to the bar, boys!
Here are the latest waiting list numbers from our friends at NASTAD. Let’s not forget that these are the visible waiting lists. Too many states have vanished PLWHA who used to qualify for ADAP assistance by setting income eligibility ceilings unreasonably low.

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6 comments on “ADAP Watch March 12, 2012”

  1. Chris Morley says:
    March 12, 2012 at 11:27 am

    Gregory
    First time on your blog, visiting from a link at http://queeringthechurch.com/

    I worked in HIV policy and practice in the UK until made redundant last year and long been interested in US HIV+ people’s problems accessing treatment since the mid 1980s.
    One of the long term policy issues I was working on was UK-resident migrants’ access to free treatment, which the government has just announced will be available from this October.
    We’ve had to be very creative in finding ways to ensure all migrants always got the treatment they needed. Our National Health Service means free HIV treatment access is almost universal (apart from some migrants), so very different to many people’s experience in the US.

    I Thought you might be interested in this which I recalled seeing last week:
    75% of US HIV Patients Not Staying In Care
    http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242678.php

    You might also want to follow the excellent UK HIV site http://www.aidsmap.com which I highly recommend, very user friendly clear information

    Here’s their US news page
    http://www.aidsmap.com/news/News-by-topic/United-States/cat/1199/page/1404239/

    best regards
    Chris

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    • D Gregory Smith says:
      March 12, 2012 at 11:50 am

      Thank you! I subscribe to Queering the Church and Terence and I are in contact. I appreciate all you do- you’re welcome to put up a guest post here as well, just let me know,
      ~Greg

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      • Chris Morley says:
        March 12, 2012 at 1:29 pm

        Hi Greg
        By all means lift anything of mine from Queering the Church (only 2 so far but more to follow) and if there’s anything USA specific that inspires me, I’ll remember your kind offer to post here.

        I’ve just noticed aidsmap.com is included in your HIV resources links, so sorry for teaching you to suck eggs.

        A useful HIV blog by a former colleague and good friend that you don’t have listed is the international blog Criminal HIV Transmission by Edwin J Bernard. I worked closely with Edwin on criminalisation and prosecution of HIV transmission. Colleagues working together across the UK community sector have virtually managed to close down HIV transmission prosecutions in England and Wales (not with so much success so far in Scotland, where the law / legal system is different).
        Now everyone investigated / charged who makes contact with the HIV community sector is given expert advice and put in touch with HIV prosecution experienced counsel. None have been found guilty in the last few years. The few people who aren’t in contact with the HIV community sector make mistakes like plead guilty and then get convicted and jailed.

        Edwin has very good coverage of the USA http://criminalhivtransmission.blogspot.com/search/label/USA (and Canada too)

        I know this is a significant issue in very many US States but he doesn’t have a Montana tag. Maybe there have not been any transmissions prosecuted in your home State?

        Main blog page http://criminalhivtransmission.blogspot.com/

        There are a also useful HIV prosecution resources at the UK’s National AIDS Trust site here, on HIV forensics, and a prosecutions guide for people living with HIV in the UK.
        http://www.nat.org.uk/Information-and-Resources/NAT%20publications.aspx
        and lots more here http://www.nat.org.uk/Our-thinking/Law-stigma-and-discrimination/Criminal-prosecutions.aspx

        Terrence Higgins Trust also has some useful prosecutions resources
        http://www.myhiv.org.uk/Telling-people/Law

        AIDSmap has law and prosecutions resources too
        http://www.aidsmap.com/HIV-and-criminal-law/cat/1686/ including the text book by Edwin, (free online) HIV and the Criminal Law

        Even with differences in law and the legal system there is much learning and experience that can be transferred across to the USA.

        I could perhaps write you a post on this from the UK perspective, if you give me an angle?

        Very best regards
        Chris

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        • D Gregory Smith says:
          March 12, 2012 at 2:39 pm

          Thanks, Chris! I look forward to working with you…
          One thing I haven’t had time to do- but would welcome from you- is an analysis of reasons persons with HIV are not in care. A summary would be extremely helpful, I think for all involved… I will writ further from my personal email address.
          ~G

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  2. Chris Morley says:
    March 12, 2012 at 7:01 pm

    Greg
    I’ve signed up for email updates, my address starts chris998. Hope that’s enough for you to track my full address down. Pl email me and I’ll send the draft I’ve written.

    Like

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