Pelosi Applauds Provisions in Health Bill to Improve Access to Care, Medications for People Living With HIV/AIDS

Pelosi Applauds Provisions in Health Bill to Improve Access to Care,
Medications for People Living With HIV/AIDS

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi released
the following statement praising provisions in the Affordable Health Care for
America Act (H.R. 3962) that will improve access to Medicaid and reduce
Medicare Part D costs for people living with HIV/AIDS. H.R. 3962 passed the
House on Saturday by a vote of 220 to 215:

"Effective drug treatments have improved both health and quality of life for
thousands of Americans living with HIV/AIDS. However, many uninsured,
low-income HIV-positive individuals still do not have access to these
life-saving medications because they generally do not meet Medicaid
requirements until becoming disabled by full-blown AIDS.

"Forcing people with HIV to wait for health care until their immune system is
compromised by AIDS is bad health policy. The House health insurance reform
bill dramatically increases access to Medicaid for all low-income Americans,
including people living with HIV, by covering everyone up to 150 percent of
the federal poverty level.

"For more than a decade, I have worked to expand access to Medicaid for people
living with HIV through the Early Treatment for HIV Act. With Saturday's
passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, the House has moved a
step closer to not just achieving this goal, but exceeding it."

Background:

Currently, childless adults without a disability typically do not qualify for
Medicaid at any income level. But even for parents and disabled adults
eligibility is generally limited to those with incomes below 100 percent of
the poverty level, and in many states the threshold is much lower.

The bill's expanded access to Medicaid begins in January 2013, when the new
Health Insurance Exchange begins operation. In the interim, H.R. 3962 further
ensures early access to care and treatment for people living with HIV by
giving states the option of an enhanced federal match if they choose to cover
people with HIV in their existing Medicaid programs. In participating states,
people with HIV infection would qualify for coverage using the same
eligibility standards that currently apply for disabled adults.

In addition, H.R. 3962 also finally allows medications provided through the
AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) to count toward out-of-pocket costs in the
Medicare Part D 'donut hole'. Prior to this change, ADAP beneficiaries would
enter the "donut hole" coverage gap and then never leave it because their drug
costs weren't being counted.

Now, ADAP beneficiaries will exit the "donut hole" more quickly, giving them
access to the full range of medications covered under Medicare Part D. This is
important because ADAP programs generally have a more limited formulary than
the typical Medicare Part D plan.

SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House

Brendan Daly, Nadeam Elshami, or Drew Hammill of the Office of the Speaker of
the House, +1-202-226-7616