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June 27, 2008
27-F STALLED FOR SESSION
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Mayersohn (center) and her bad testing bill stirred up the Health Committee |
Albany's two-year session ended with a whimper this week, and, after much drama in the New York State Assembly over dueling Article 27-f bills, nothing's going to happen after all. (This legislative HIV-testing squabble ended just in time for today's National HIV Testing Day).
Although both efforts to reform state law concerning HIV testing consent rules passed the Health Committee after some raucous debate, Mayersohn's bill A.4813-C died in the Codes Committee on Monday. Only eight of eighteen Assemblymembers voted to move the bill forward. Dick Gottfried's bill A.11461, written by the New York State Department of Health made it to a third reading in the Assembly, but didn't make it to a vote before session ended Tuesday.
Albany's inability to move forward on the two 27-f bills—which contrary to Mayersohn's claim were, in fact, incompatible and irreconcilable—might, in the end, be a good thing: It gives AIDS advocates time to push for a better reframing of the law, which is essential to protecting the confidentiality and privacy of anyone who has been tested for or exposed to HIV...
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ZEROES TO HEROES
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Protester gives PEPFAR props to Reid |
As the Update went to press Thursday, the battle over reauthorizing the $50 billion President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was still very much in flux. The latest news from AP/Google.com was that a "tentative agreement" between Democrat and Republican leaders had beeen reached. Word of that compromise came just hours before hundreds of AIDS activists were hitting Capitol Hill in a demo thanking some Senate leaders for taking action on the bill and chiding others for standing in its way.
According to AP/Google.com, the latest PEPFAR agreement would stipulate that over 50 percent of the legislation's funding goes toward treatment—the biggest bee in the bonnet of the seven Senate Republicans, led by Tom Coburn, blocking reauthorization. Hill insiders also say that the compromise language regarding HIV prevention may create significant roadblocks to using PEPFAR money to distribute condoms. The bill's previous language included a reporting requirement if PEPFAR-funded groups spent less than 50 percent of their prevention funds on abstinence, faithfulness or other behavior programs." The compromise bill may strike the phrase "or other behavior programs" to close what conservatives consider a loophole allowing funds to be used for condom distribution...
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UPS AND DOWNS FOR FEDERAL FUNDING
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Domestic AIDS funding: Always a roller coaster flickr.com/photos/kelpatolog/59719356/ |
Global funding was the number one item on the AIDS advocacy agenda this week, with advocates fighting the clock before the G8 summit. But several smaller-potato domestic AIDS issues were in play as well. The outcome? Good and bad.
The good:
Thanks in part to all your phone calls (and the lobbying of almost every U.S. governor), six of the seven proposed changes to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations are expected to be held off until March 31, 2009. -- The Dems snuck in a measure to curtail the misguided regulations changes into the war funding bill, which passed both houses last week. Targeted case management programs, including COBRA, are safe, at least for the next few months. The only regulation that will stay in effect is limiting federal funding for certain hospital outpatient services, such as dental care and preventive care. The legions of advocates against the new regulations are hoping that when the CMS changes are up for review again in March, the next administration is friendlier towards the health of poor and sick people...
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CARMODY CHEERED
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Award-winning Housing Works attorney Carmody |
Housing Works Staff Attorney Matthew Carmody was honored last week with the Sylvia Rivera Law Project Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service "in recognition of his tireless work on behalf of the rights of the transgender community." Others honored at the June 19 ceremony were Anya Mukarji-Connolly of the Peter Cicchino Youth Project and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, which received a firm award. The Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) works to fight discrimination against gender non-conforming people, focusing on people of color and poor people.
"Not only has Matthew been an incredible fighter for the transgender community and for people with AIDS, he is an incredible resource to the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and a mentor to all of the attorneys here," said SRLP staff attorney Pooja Gehi, who presented Carmody with the award. "We can't say enough wonderful things about Matthew."
Carmody has worked as public interest attorney since graduating from CUNY Law School in 1998. In addition to his work fighting for the rights of people with HIV/AIDS, first at the South Brooklyn legal clinic, and now at Housing Works, Carmody has long made fighting discrimination against transgender people his mission...
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