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Alameda County is California’s first
to let low-income people with HIV qualify for Medicaid (known in the state as
Medi-Cal) before they progress to AIDS. The state is leading the nation in the
reform of the publicly funded health care program under the Affordable Care Act
(ACA), a transition that will not be completed until 2014, said Rep. Barbara
Lee (D-Oakland).
“We have a long way to go,” Lee said
Monday during a visit to Cal-Pep, an Oakland-based HIV/AIDS advocacy
organization.
ACA will expand coverage for
uninsured HIV patients without cutting into the Ryan White Care Act program -
the last resort for low-income HIV/AIDS patients lacking adequate insurance. Alameda
County is the launching ground for the initiative in California.
According to Supervisor Keith
Carson, Alameda’s annual rate of new HIV infections has not declined in two
decades. The county has 7,500 HIV/AIDS cases “that we know of,” he said. “The
number might be higher.”
The rate of new infections among
Alameda’s African-American residents is two to three times that of other
groups. County data show AIDS is now the leading cause of death among black
women ages 20-40.
Lee said California’s reforms
represent progress toward the goal of “an AIDS-free generation.” Cal-Pep Deputy
Director Carla Dillard Smith agreed: “This is a new era.”
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!
