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A new HIV/AIDS Medicaid health maintenance
organization was launched last month in Florida with 350 Miami-Dade patients.
Offered by the insurer Simply Healthcare, the Clear Health Alliance (CHA) HMO
plan was started because “we have the distinction of having the largest number
of new HIV/AIDS cases in the country,” said Miguel B. “Mike” Fernandez, Simply
Healthcare’s creator.
CHA plans to have its own clinics in
Wynwood, Overtown, and Liberty City and soon will expand to serve Broward
County and other areas of Florida. The alliance styles itself a new “Dream
Team” and includes leaders from the University of Miami (UM) medical school and
Magic Johnson Enterprises. CHA this month hired Thomas Liberti, chief of the
state’s HIV/AIDS Bureau for the past 15 years, as a strategic advisor.
UM physicians will offer primary and
specialty care to CHA patients and technical expertise on HMO resource
allocation, said Michael Kolber, director of the university’s Comprehensive
AIDS Program. These HIV/AIDS specialists can see patients at the UM-Jackson Memorial
campus as well as at area clinics run by Borinquen and Care Resource. “Not
everybody can make it to Jackson,” Kolber said.
The UM AIDS program is dedicated to
ensuring patients have a “medical home” to coordinate care. “We think this is
critically important,” said Kolber.
The HIV/AIDS Medicaid HMO came about
as a result of a state law last year allowing the creation of such plans. This
year, as part of a Medicaid reform effort, the Legislature required HIV
patients statewide to join specialized HMOs.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
