Pelosi Applauds Provisions to Improve Access to Care, Medications for People Living with HIV/AIDS
Congressional Desk
November 10, 2009
Washington, D.C. — Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement praising provisions in the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) that will improve access to Medicaid and reduce Medicare Part D costs for people living with HIV/AIDS. H.R. 3962 passed the House on Saturday by a vote of 220 to 215:
"Effective drug treatments have improved both health and quality of life for thousands of Americans living with HIV/AIDS. However, many uninsured, low-income HIV-positive individuals still do not have access to these life-saving medications because they generally do not meet Medicaid requirements until becoming disabled by full-blown AIDS.
"Forcing people with HIV to wait for health care until their immune system is compromised by AIDS is bad health policy. The House health insurance reform bill dramatically increases access to Medicaid for all low-income Americans, including people living with HIV, by covering everyone up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
"For more than a decade, I have worked to expand access to Medicaid for people living with HIV through the Early Treatment for HIV Act. With Saturday's passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, the House has moved a step closer to not just achieving this goal, but exceeding it."
"Effective drug treatments have improved both health and quality of life for thousands of Americans living with HIV/AIDS. However, many uninsured, low-income HIV-positive individuals still do not have access to these life-saving medications because they generally do not meet Medicaid requirements until becoming disabled by full-blown AIDS.
"Forcing people with HIV to wait for health care until their immune system is compromised by AIDS is bad health policy. The House health insurance reform bill dramatically increases access to Medicaid for all low-income Americans, including people living with HIV, by covering everyone up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level.
"For more than a decade, I have worked to expand access to Medicaid for people living with HIV through the Early Treatment for HIV Act. With Saturday's passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, the House has moved a step closer to not just achieving this goal, but exceeding it."
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