The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) spearheaded or collaborated on the following bills during the 2012 Illinois General Assembly Veto session that will impact the lives of people living with or at risk of HIV/AIDS.

You've heard about it. It's coming. And it sounds scary. But what does the "fiscal cliff" really mean for people living with HIV?

According to a new analysis by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, the impact of the automatic budget cuts will be prove to be both deleterious to public health and costly for taxpayers in the long run.

On January 2, 2013, absent any change in federal law, a process called “sequestration” will cause sweeping across-the-board automatic budget cuts. President Obama and the U.S. House and Senate in 2010 agreed to these budget cuts as part of deficit reduction negotiations in 2011.

The January 2 deadline represents the so-called fiscal cliff, which legislators on both sides of the aisle say they are working to avoid. Discussions are ongoing in Washington to replace sequestration with a balanced package of revenue increases and budget cuts.

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) is considering options for the Medicaid benchmark Medicaid benefits (pdf) package that will be extended to the new health care reform Medicaid expansion population.

The Medicaid benefits package defines the baseline of services covered by the state for the newly eligible Medicaid recipients under health care reform.  The plan will have far-reaching implications for people with chronic diseases like HIV.

Read AFC’s comments on the state Medicaid Benchmark Plan.

Recently the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) proposed adoption of rules for the sexually transmissible disease code.

After consultation with medical providers, agencies that provide services to youth, community members, and persons living with HIV and STDs and other service providers, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, and Howard Brown Health Center submitted comments on the proposed rules

AFC, ALCC, and Howard Brown believe that identifying individuals with STIs and HIV and linkage to care is a national and state goal to prevent or avert infections. When individuals have early access to STDs and HIV testing and treatment it dramatically reduces transmission of diseases and increases the likelihood that individuals stay healthier which contains long-term cost for the state.

Read the comments on the proposed rules for the sexually transmissible disease code.

The Quinn administration recently announced that the benchmark plan for Illinois’ Essential Health Benefits (EHB) package will be chosen by September 30, 2012 in order to meet the Federal deadline for selecting a plan.

The EHB package defines the baseline of services covered by health insurance plans offered to individuals and small businesses in the state.  The plan will have far-reaching implications for people with chronic diseases like HIV and for every Illinoisan purchasing health insurance through the health insurance exchange.

Read AFC's comments on state's essential health benefits plan.