Come Chat about HIV/AIDS and Affordable Care Act!

NMAC, together with Altarum, has united with several community colleagues and HIV.gov to highlight the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on people living with HIV/AIDS.

We are well into the 6th year of the ACA, and the Act has opened up many opportunities for healthcare coverage for people with pre-existing conditions like HIV/AIDS. There have been several advances in healthcare coverage for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), including expanding Medicaid coverage and increasing coordinated care for people with chronic conditions, and there is still room for advancement. The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) HIV/AIDS Bureau released their Annual Client-Level Data Report, which clearly outlines the needs for people living with HIV/AIDS who receive Ryan White services. According to the report.

• 76.3% of clients were living at or below the 138 percent of the Federal poverty level, which qualifies them for Medicaid eligibility under the ACA.
• Little change in health care coverage for RWHAP clients has occurred since 2010, as approximately 25 percent of clients still do not have health coverage.
• Nearly 75 percent of RWHAP clients have healthcare coverage; 51.2% percent received Medicare, Medicaid, or both in 2014.
• Female and transgender RWHAP clients have lower incomes than their male counterparts.

While we are aware that Ryan White data only reflects the realities of a certain subset of PLWHA, we understand that there are still strides to be made in healthcare coverage for all PLWHA.

Participate on Our Live Twitter Chat!

To help us further explore the impact of ACA on people living with HIV/AIDS, we are hosting a Twitter chat Exit Disclaimer on Wednesday, July 13 at 2pm, ET. The chat will feature Dr. John Hogan, HIV Specialist at Unity Healthcare DC and Ms. Michelle Lopez, Expert Consultant for the Senior Sexual Health Initiative at ACRIA NY. This is an opportunity for providers, community-serving organizations, and individuals to learn more about how to navigate the ACA as a person living with HIV, or on behalf of a loved one, patient, or client.

The objectives of this chat are to:

• Increase awareness about the benefits of the ACA for PLWHA;
• Increase awareness about services available through ACA for PLWHA;
• Inform participants about the potential challenges related to navigating the ACA for PLWHA.
• Inform participants about how to make the best use of the ACA.

Learn More about the Affordable Care Act!

There are several resources available to help you learn about the impact of the ACA of people living with HIV/AIDS. HIV.gov provides an overview of the impact of the ACA on people living with HIV/AIDS as well as a comprehensive list of helpful resources. Click here for more information. Also, you can learn more from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about preventing HIV through health care here.

Thank you!

We are looking forward to your participation on July 13, and we would like to thank all of you for uniting with us on our journey toward improving the health of the nation one step at a time through our Twitter chat series. Please stay tuned for our future activities.