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GMHC WELCOMES PASSAGE OF THE CHAMP ACT
Legislation would expand vital drug access protections for people living with HIV and AIDS; implements necessary restrictions on abstinence education earmarks
New York, NY—On Wednesday, July 31st, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a sweeping health care expansion bill which, if passed into law, would significantly increase and improve health care access to millions of vulnerable individuals living in the United States. H.R. 3612, the Children's Health and Medicare Protections Act (CHAMP) not only expands and reauthorizes the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) but also strengthens critical drug access protections and Medicare benefits for low income people living with HIV/AIDS. The CHAMP Act also provides for necessary restrictions on the use of federal money for discredited abstinence education.
"We are gratified to hear that the CHAMP Act contains the long-overdue improvements for people living with HIV and AIDS that we have been fighting for since Medicare Part D was first launched" says Dr. Marjorie J. Hill, Chief Executive Officer of Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC).
One critical provision will save AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) millions of dollars each year. Individuals covered by Part D can incur thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs before these expenses reach a level where "catastrophic coverage" kicks in and Medicare begins to pay 95% of their prescription costs. ADAPs have stepped in to help pay these expenditures, but since these contributions are not counted towards the True-Out-of-Pocket costs (TrOOP), catastrophic coverage levels are never reached, Part D plans do not pick up prescription costs, and ADAPs continue to supplement what the plans should be paying. The result has been a drain on ADAPs and a threat to their financial sustainability. The CHAMP Act remedies this problem by allowing ADAP contributions to count towards an individual's TrOOP. Additionally, the CHAMP Act further expands Medicare access by creating new income and asset exemptions, expanding eligibility for low income subsidy (LIS) provisions, as well as creating new limits on cost-sharing for LIS beneficiaries.
Two other provisions of the bill are of particular importance to the HIV/AIDS community. The first requires that benzodiazepines used to treat anxiety are covered on every Part D plan. The second involves the legislative guarantee of inclusion of antiretrovirals (ARVs) on all Part D formularies. When Medicare Part D was rolled out, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) required that all Part D drug plans cover "all or substantially all" antiretrovirals currently on the market; however this protection did not have the weight of law, leaving many beneficiaries who rely on ARVs extremely vulnerable. The CHAMP Act legislates the permanent inclusion of six protected classes, one of which is ARVs.
In a recent joint survey conducted by the American Academy of HIV Medicine and the HIV Medicine Association, 54% of HIV medical providers reported caring for an HIV-positive Medicare beneficiary who had gone without ARVs because of challenges with Part D coverage. "The CHAMP Act will go along way towards ensuring that people living with HIV and AIDS are no longer faced with the life-threatening disruptions to their continuity of care that occur when they are denied essential antiretrovirals." says Dr. Hill.
Finally, the legislation addressed abstinence education programs. While GMHC is disappointed that House leaders approved another two-year, $50 million grant in federal funding for misleading and anti-gay abstinence education, we are encouraged by modifications put forth in the CHAMP Act which will mitigate some of the deleterious effects of these programs. States will now have the option of accepting federal funding for abstinence education programs only if they can demonstrate that the information disseminated is medically sound, scientifically accurate, and proven effective in reducing STIs, HIV transmission, and teen pregnancy rates. States that have previously refused federal funding because they could not, in good conscience, comply with the abstinence-only mandate; will now be able to access this funding stream to teach a more comprehensive safer sex curriculum. This could include information on birth control and harm and disease reduction strategies.
"Half of people with HIV are under 25—clearly, we have failed our young people when it comes to comprehensive sex education," commented Dr. Hill. "With passage of this bill, the House has recommitted itself to science-driven policies over ideology-driven restrictions. We look forward to working with our coalition partners and our elected officials in the Senate towards ultimate enactment of this legislation."
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Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) is a not-for-profit, volunteer-supported
and community-based organization committed to national leadership in the
fight against AIDS. Our mission is to reduce the spread of HIV disease,
help people with HIV maintain and improve their health and independence,
and keep the prevention, treatment and cure of HIV an urgent national and
local priority. In fulfilling this mission, we will remain true to our
heritage by fighting homophobia and affirming the individual dignity of
all gay men and lesbians. We provide services and programs to over
15,000 men, women and families that are living with or affected by
HIV/AIDS in New York City. For more information, please visit www.gmhc.org.
© 2007 Gay Men's Health Crisis
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