After three years of rigorous grassroots advocacy, the Obama Administration will release the country’s first National HIV/AIDS Strategy on Tuesday, July 13. The unprecedented plan sets forth an ambitious agenda to effectively address the domestic U.S. HIV epidemic.
Tuesday afternoon, administration officials will brief the public on the main features of the Strategy...
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The world’s largest public health conference, the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010), kicked off this past weekend in Vienna, Austria. The event brings together 20,000 people from across the world to discuss the current state and the future path of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic.
There are a TON of online outlets covering AIDS 2010 but here are a few links...
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Community Advocate Lonnie Fulton passed away on September 9, 2010. His fellow members of the AIDS Housing Advisory Council had these words to share:
Susan Armstrong – "Lonnie was a great mentor; my first effort at public speaking was with him."
Fernando Blasco – "He was an honest man, a wonderful person and very valuable to the community."
Patrice...
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The AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s Care and Housing Teams mourn the loss of case manger and housing advocate Lester Ward. Lester was a committed and caring individual who formally began his work in the HIV community in 1999 at Asian Human Services. Lester managed to find balance between his career and personal life. He was an avid movie buff and lover of the theater.
As an advocate...
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The Illinois Department of Insurance recently launched the new Illinois Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (IPXP) . The plan is designed for uninsured people with HIV and other preexisting conditions (including hepatitis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and others). Because the plan is federally subsidized, the premiums are much more affordable than other high-risk insurance plans. ...
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Illinois Governor Pat Quinn announced today that state funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), which provides life-saving HIV medications to low-income people with HIV, will be sufficient to “serve approximately 4,500 clients a month – an increase of 400” program recipients. In the last nine months, the program provided HIV/AIDS medications to an average of 4,165 Illinoisans...
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Sixty-six organizations from around Illinois signed on to a letter urging Governor Quinn to allocate sufficient funding to HIV programs to avert an AIDS Drug Assistance Program waiting list and continue community-based HIV prevention and care programs. The letter also highlights the funding needs of other programs that are critical for the lives and health of people with HIV.
Read the...
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Yes, we have a state budget. Well, sort of. Actually, it’s kinda complicated.
Let’s break it down.
The General Assembly passed on May 25 a state budget. However, this budget is deeply flawed. It doesn’t address the state’s nearly $6 billion in unpaid bills, relies too heavily on one-time revenue, and jeopardizes services for all Illinoisans. Most importantly,...
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This week, the Illinois General Assembly sent Governor Pat Quinn a state budget bill (HB 859) that gives him unprecedented ability to fund - or not fund - state programs in fiscal year 2011. The ball is in the governor's court.
HB 859 gives Governor Quinn sole authority to allocate funding to lifesaving HIV programs such as the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), HIV prevention...
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Facing an historic budget crisis that could destabilize HIV treatment access for more than 4,000 low-income Illinoisans with HIV/AIDS, a state advisory panel voted on May 21 to urge Illinois to immediately close the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) to new applicants and begin a waiting list. The recommendation is now under review by state officials.
“Because the program is deeply...
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