Policy Priorities
TAEP is committed to bringing together advocates, consumers, health care providers and government leaders in support of widespread testing and early access to care and treatment for low-income people living with HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.
The Treatment Access Expansion Project (TAEP) was founded in 1996 with the purpose of working to expand access to affordable, comprehensive, quality health care for poor and low-income individuals living with HIV and AIDS. Since that time TAEP’s work has expanded to encompass the health care access needs of all low-income individuals living with chronic medical conditions, including HIV, hepatitis and mental illness.
TAEP plays a leadership role in addressing emerging health care access opportunities and challenges by coordinating and informing the efforts of national, state and local community partners as they work to secure, preserve, and improve access to testing, care and treatment.
TAEP's work is focused on four specific goals:
Increased Testing
- Promoting HIV testing initiatives to reach the approximately 250,000+ undiagnosed people living with HIV in the United States, and to get them in to care.
- Ensuring testing of all individuals with HIV for viral hepatitis, as the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is ten times greater among those living with HIV are co-infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV).
Reduction/Elimination of Late Diagnosis
- Addressing widespread late diagnosis to reverse the current trend of 40% of people living with HIV being diagnosed approximately nine years after date of infection and within one year of an AIDS diagnosis.
- Identifying and vaccinating adults with risk factors for viral hepatitis, to reach the goal of the Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2010 report that calls for a reduction of viral hepatitis among high risk adults by at least 75%.
Promotion of Early Access to Care
- Ensuring that the 45% of individuals aged 15-49 who are eligible for but not receiving HIV drugs have access to these life-saving medications, and expanding public/private health insurance programs (including expansions under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010) for the 290,000+ individuals living with HIV who are currently uninsured.
Elimination of Stigma
- Reducing fear and stigma associated with HIV, hepatitis and mental illness that have strong negative effects on testing and care, particularly among those most at risk for these preventable and/or treatable diseases.