ACTION ALERT - Tell Congress To Oppose Repeal of Health Care Reform!

Tomorrow the House of Representatives will consider House Resolution 2, the so-called "Repeal the Job Killing Health Care Law Act," which would roll back the hard won gains of last year's historic health care reform.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation strongly opposes repeal and urges you to contact your Congressional Representative to say you oppose it too. An e-mail to your Rep is good, a phone call to his or her office is even better. You can find House e-mail addresses at http://www.house.gov/. To be connected directly to your House Rep's office by phone, call 888.876.6242.

There's simply too much at stake for people living with HIV. Here's what we stand to lose -

o 16 million people with incomes below 133% of the federal poverty level and disabilities will lose eligibility to be covered by Medicaid expansion in 2014. This means that thousands of individuals living with HIV will continue to wait for an AIDS diagnosis before becoming eligible for Medicaid.

o Repealing reform will undo elimination of the Medicare Part D drug benefit coverage gap (known as "the donut hole"). Repealing reform will force millions of people to continue to pay absurd out of pocket costs. Until the gap is eliminated, the ACA allows State AIDS Drug Assistance Plans (ADAPs) to cover out-of-pocket costs, which is an important benefit for people living with HIV/AIDS and saves money for the ADAPs.

o We will lose the Prevention and Public Health Awareness Fund. This funding makes $15 billion available over ten years to expand and sustain the necessary infrastructure to prevent disease, detect it early, and manage conditions before they become severe. These funds will likely be used for HIV/AIDS and/or related conditions.

o Over 1.2 million young adults will lose access to insurance coverage through their parents' health plans . The impact on young people living with HIV will be devastating.

o Over 165 million residents of the United States with private insurance coverage will suddenly find themselves vulnerable again to having lifetime coverage limits. This is a particular problem for people living with HIV

o 15.9 million people in the United States will be at risk of losing their insurance as insurance companies are once again allowed cut off someone's coverage unexpectedly when they are in an accident or become sick because of a simple mistake on an application.

Please HELP TO SPREAD THE WORD!


Together We Remain Strong!