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September 21, 2007
NEW YORK SEX ED IS COMPREHENSIVE-ONLY
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Comprehensive sex-ed lovers smile for the camera |
Yo, it's good news Thursday! The same day New York Civil Liberties Union issued a new report "Financing Ignorance: A Report of Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding in New York" chronicling the dangerous funding of medically inaccurate abstinence-only education in 39 New York State programs, State Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines announced that as of October 1, state funds won't go for anything other than comprehensive sex education.
Daines' announcement followed his July move to cancel existing contracts with abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and no longer accept funds from Title V, one of the main federal funding streams for abstinence-only education.
"We're very pleased the Department of Health decided to stay away from dirty money, but we'll only be satisfied when comprehensive sex education is fully funded," NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman said after a press conference Thursday to announce NYCLU's report. Organizations supporting NYCLU's proposal include Family Planning Advocates, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center, Mt. Sinai Adolescent Health Center, CHAMP, Housing Works, and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS). Representatives from supporting organizations spoke at Thursday's release about the different ways abstinence-only education is damaging...
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DOE V. DOAR RESTORES SSI FOR THOUSANDS
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SSI invisbility will give some poor families the money they are owed |
In a victory for New York's families, more than 27,000 households will receive subsistence benefits previously denied to them after a Monroe County Supreme Court Justice signed a final judgment in their favor last Thursday. As part of the judgment, state welfare officials agreed to a remedial plan to restore the benefits quickly and completely.
The victory in the Doe v. Doar case means State and City welfare officials can no longer count SSI payments to disabled family members as available family income when calculating public assistance benefits for most— but not all—low-income families. The favorable outcome was pushed along by a landmark Housing Works victory in the case of Melendez v. Doar earlier this year.
"The decisions in Doe and Melendez send an important message to those who would try to balance the budget on the backs of the poor and vulnerable," said Susan Antos, a staff attorney for the Empire Justice Center which brought the Doe case. "New York's Social Services Law provides real economic protection to individuals with disabilities and children."...
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ALL OUT FOR HASA FOR ALL
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Smile at Quinn on Tuesday |
This Tuesday September 25 you've got the chance to join hundreds of people with HIV and allies in a New York City rally and demonstration on the steps of City Hall — arrive at 12:30 sharp!— to urge City Council members to pass "HASA for All" legislation to get enhanced housing, support services and public benefits coordination to poor HIV-positive people before they get expensive and destructive advanced illnesses. HASA for All sponsor Annabel Palma will address the crowd, along with other leaders, activists, and everyday people living with HIV/AIDS.
Early this month Palma introduced HASA For All legislation in the Council, and it's crucial for the health of New Yorkers living with HIV her bill win co-sponsors, support from leadership, and passage through the full Council this Fall. Council Speaker Christine Quinn is currently looking over the hoards of research that shows that housing is necessary to effective HIV prevention and treatment, but she hasn't yet decided if she will support HASA for All.
"People who are HIV-positive need the Council's help," said Shirlene Cooper, co-director of the New York City AIDS Housing Network. "Council members have the power and the tools to get this passed. They just need the will."...
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DEMS PILE ON THE HEALTH CARE
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Hillary hits health hard |
Among the Democratic presidential candidates trying to make a stir on health care during the 2008 campaign, Dennis Kucinich got there first, John Edwards got there last winter, and Hillary Clinton got there this week (although perhaps it's fair to say she started getting there a decade ago).
Last July, Kucinich gave a strong speech on the floor of the House of Representatives in favor of legislation he cosponsors that would establish a national single-payer health insurance system for all Americans.
Edwards came out for universal health care last February, and provided lots of details on costs (including an attack on costly long-term patents for lifesaving drugs for conditions like cancer and AIDS) in June...
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DRUG PRICING GETS MERCK-Y
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Ask Merck to remember company history and social mission when pricing Isentress |
Longtime treatment activist Martin Delaney told the Update this week that Isentress, Merck's new integrase inhibitor "could be the best drug we've ever had for HIV." But he and other leading treatment advocates want to make sure that Isentress's iPhone-level hype isn't accompanied by iPhone-level price-gauging.
The data shows the new drug could be a great option for many PLWHAs who are resistant to other forms of treatment— studies show Isentress gets HIV levels undetectable in up to 62 percent of those tested (compared to fewer than 36 percent of those who received a placebo plus other drugs). But the potential cost of this add-on drug, expected to be approved by the FDA next month, could add-on to the already ridiculously expensive cost of HIV/AIDS care. AIDS advocates worry that sky-high pricing could cause a meltdown in publicly-funded health care programs that are already stretched to the limit, including Medicare, Medicaid, and particularly Ryan White and ADAP.
"We're concerned for the simple reason that this appears to be a really, really good drug. Once this drug is approved it could be the HIV/AIDS equivalent of a stampede," said Bill Arnold, at the Title II Community AIDS National Network. "We want to make sure the pricing is not disruptive to very strained and limited funding streams."...
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A BETTER STRATEGERY
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Our next president needs some better-laid plans |
Since the Update reported on the National AIDS Strategy: Call to Action(nationalaidsstrategy.org) last month, more than 100 new organizations have signed on to the campaign to convince elected officials to create a comprehensive plan to address HIV/AIDS in the U.S. And right now organizers are trying to reach HIV/AIDS, antipoverty, human rights, civil rights and every other group that will be right on in recognizing the need to come up with a real plan and a real strategy to address the HIV/AIDS crisis in the U.S.
"Part of what we've had to do is educate people that domestic AIDS is still a crisis," said Rebecca Haag, executive director of AIDS Action, which is among the groups promoting NAS:CTA. "A lot of focus on the international crisis, which is of course important, but a lot of people—including candidates—aren't aware of the needs in the United States."
The chief goal of this campaign is to get candidates talking about domestic HIV/AIDS—and getting the next President to understand that a we need a plan to fight HIV/AIDS in the U.S., the same way we require a national plan from every country that receives funding from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)...
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