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News: Illinois

Tell Your Story! Get Engaged!

November 20, 2019

Do you have Medicaid coverage? Do you have a loved one that has Medicaid coverage? Do you serve Medicaid patients? Then we need your help...  Protect Our Care Illinois is a statewide coalition of health care advocates, providers, consumers, and workers, joining together to improve the Illinois health care system, especially Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  We...
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What you need to know about HIV criminalization in Illinois

October 10, 2019

By Coleman Goode  The term “HIV criminalization” refers to criminal prosecution of people living with HIV/AIDS including for non-disclosure of their HIV status, potential or perceived HIV exposure or HIV transmission.  These laws were put into effect during the early years of the HIV epidemic when there was little to no understanding about how HIV was transmitted...
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City of Chicago receives $1.8 million in new donations for Flexible Housing Pool

August 26, 2019

The City of Chicago announced on Thursday, Aug. 22, the expansion of the Chicago and Cook County Flexible Housing Pool (FHP) with a total of more than $1.8 million in new investments, including the first private investments in the program. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and Advocate Aurora Health are investing a combined $1.5 million over the next three years to support the City and its...
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How Open Door helps the HIV community thrive

August 19, 2019

AIDS Run & Walk Chicago brings together Chicago’s HIV community and supporters each year to celebrate, honor and remember how far we have come in the HIV epidemic. Open Door Health Center of Illinois is one of the many community-based organizations that fundraises with AIDS Run & Walk Chicago year after year to help them continue providing services and support for people living...
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Illinois expands protections for LGBTQ older adults

August 12, 2019

by Kim Hunt, Executive Director, Pride Action Tank Pride Action Tank applauds Gov. JB Pritzker for signing SB1319 on Friday. The new law, which takes effect July 1, 2020, helps ensure that the needs of LGBTQ older adults and people living with HIV are recognized and supported across Illinois. Through our OUTAging Committee, we have been uplifting the voices and concerns of LGBTQ...
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Pride for PrEP in Illinois

June 28, 2019

By AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Policy and Advocacy Chair, Craig W. Johnson Hold on to your rainbow-hued glasses as we list how PrEP can help us eliminate the transmission of HIV by 2030. The AIDS Foundation of Chicago along with Governor J.B Pritzker and Illinois and Chicago Departments of Public Health announced the Getting to Zero Illinois plan in Springfield last month, a...
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Governor Pritzker, Please Revise Medicaid Rules for Gender-affirming Care

June 25, 2019

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago, in partnership with Illinois advocates, implore Governor Pritzker to revise currently proposed Medicaid regulation. This month, during Pride, our community makes time to celebrate and takes time to reflect on our history. With an eye towards both celebration and reflection, we have to take stock of the current landscape of LGBTQ healthcare access, especially...
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Study shows PrEP4Love campaign reaches millions of individuals to build awareness about vital HIV-prevention tool

June 19, 2019

A recent study by the Chicago Center for HIV Elimination at the University of Chicago reveals the PrEP4Love social marketing campaign generated roughly 41 million unique views across various social media platforms within four months of its pilot launch across Chicago.    In 2016, the Chicago PrEP Working Group (now the Illinois PrEP working Group) launched PrEP4Love , a citywide,...
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New Statewide Coalition Created to End Criminalization of People Living With HIV

June 13, 2019

The Illinois HIV Action Alliance is a new statewide coalition of legal, health, policy organizations, and other advocates - launched today in an organized effort to end HIV criminalization in Illinois. Currently, Illinois law criminalizes people living with HIV who are aware of their status and engage in condomless anal or vaginal intercourse (or who shares needles, donates blood,...
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Illinois’ 2019 legislative session improved access to health care and more

June 3, 2019

On Sunday, the Illinois General Assembly concluded its spring legislative session in Springfield. This Session, Illinois had a new governor and many new faces in the state legislature tackling some of the most complex and impactful issues in the state. “AFC is proud to see Illinois take the necessary steps to invest in the services all Illinoisans need to be healthy and thrive,”...
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