Fourteen health and social justice organizations from across the U.S. wish to celebrate the people-powered effort behind UnitedHealthcare responding so swiftly to demands that they improve access to the HIV drug Truvada for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a medical intervention that prevents HIV infection. On Friday, Aug. 4, UnitedHealthcare received a joint letter from this coalition objecting...
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The AIDS Foundation of Chicago and partners demand United Healthcare halt their practices and policies that discriminate against the LGBTQ community.
Earlier this year, United Health Care began to send members letters denying access to Truvada prescribed for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis or PrEP. The reason for denial? According to the letter, shown in full below or click here to view ,...
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by Raven Feagins
Millions of people across the country are unable to work most jobs and earn an income due to disability or other challenges. For these folks, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) are available to help supplement, but the application process is known for being nearly impossible to navigate. This inspired the creation of the...
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AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) strongly condemns the actions taken by a majority of Senate Republicans’ vote to advance a bill that would repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which has provided access to comprehensive health care coverage for nearly 24 million Americans. If signed into law by President Trump without a proper replacement, over 1.2 million Illinoisans would lose their...
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by Ashley Brown
UPDATE: In November 2018, the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services (HFS) announced that a hepatitis C cure would be accessible for thousands more Illinoisans on Medicaid, many of whom were previously denied treatment until they reached end-stage disease. Learn more here .
Peter McLoyd doesn’t care what you think of him...
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By Raven Feagins
"Our Girls Matter." That’s the tagline for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC)'s Project Elevate . The marketing pieces -- developed for young cisgender (cis) and transgender (trans) women of color, by young cisgender and transgender women of color -- feature photos of young women, with inviting,...
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by Dan Frey, Director of Government Relations
It is my sincere pleasure to be able to say to you that as of last Thursday, July 6, 2017, Illinois has in place a budget for the current fiscal year. This means that the Illinois Budget Impasse, which had held our state hostage since 2015, has come to an end.
While this does not mean an end to the partisan fighting in Springfield...
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The Illinois budget impasse has finally come to an end.
Over the July 4th holiday weekend, the Illinois General Assembly passed bipartisan legislation for a full Fiscal Year (FY) 18 budget that supports health equity across the state. Legislators also passed a revenue bill (which increases the Illinois income tax from 3.75% to 4.95%) to actually fund that budget. The AIDS...
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Each June 27, National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) encourages people of all ages to get tested for HIV. Chicago has a vibrant network of testing sites at which you can #KnowYourStatus; plus, many of them are also beneficaries of AIDS Run & Walk Chicago's CommunityDirect program!
Here are two things you can do on National HIV Testing Day to build health equity in Chicago:...
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One year ago today, the Pulse nightclub shooting brought immense grief to our nation and reminded us about the havoc guns can reap on America’s most vulnerable communities. The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) was deeply saddened by the death of 49 members of the broader LGBTQ and Latinx community. We were also deeply moved to end gun violence in Chicago and across...
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