May 11, 2007
TEACHIN' ETHA
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Early treatment saves lives — but it won't happen without you |
The Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA) would give states the option to extend Medicaid coverage to low-income people with an HIV diagnosis who have not yet become disabled by AIDS.
If passed, ETHA could get HIV care to hundreds of thousands of Americans and cut the U.S. AIDS death rate by two-thirds — and it's a real possibility for passage in the current Congress.
The Campaign to End AIDS (C2EA) is holding a national conference call teach-in on Thursday, May 17, to get the word out and help C2EA activists around the country join forces to push ETHA forward. Join us!
ETHA TEACH-IN CONFERENCE CALL — THURSDAY, MAY 17
5PM EASTERN; 4PM CENTRAL; 3PM MOUNTAIN; 2PM PACIFIC
866-394-9509
Code 9357895
Featuring Ryan Clary from Project Inform and Robert Greenwald of the Treatment Access Expansion Project
Details on ETHA
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) will soon introduce ETHA in the House of Representatives. The Senate version of the bill (S.860) was recently introduced by Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY).
ETHA addresses a cruel flaw in the current Medicaid system, which requires an individual to be disabled by an AIDS diagnosis before they can receive access to the care and treatment that could have prevented their HIV disease from progressing to AIDS.
This legislation would provide low-income people with early access to HIV care and treatment, thus helping to reduce the death rate for people with HIV on Medicaid and help relieve the financial burden on other programs, including the AIDS Drug Assistance Program.
More details here: www.campaigntoendaids.org/etha