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:: News & Action Alerts
Urge Your Representatives to Co-Sponsor Legislation to Preserve Medicaid
Last month, two very important bills were introduced that will provide badly needed fiscal relief to state Medicaid programs. The Senate version of the bill, authored by Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) and Gordon Smith (R-Oregon), would give state Medicaid programs $4.8 billion over 15 months.
Last year, a bill passed that gave states $10 billion for temporary Medicaid relief, but it expired on July 1, 2004 and no further money has been available. The $10 billion allowed many states to avoid drastic cuts and program changes. Because many states continue to be in a fiscal crisis, Medicaid programs nationwide need an extension of this federal relief to help them serve the millions of people who rely on Medicaid for lifesaving care and treatment.
Medicaid continues to be a lifeline for thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS. It serves over 50% of people with HIV/AIDS in the United States, and more than 90% of children with AIDS.
You can make a huge difference for these people by taking a few minutes in August to ask your U.S. Senators to co-sponsor these bills!
What can you do to help?
Congress is now on August recess and many Senators are home working in their district offices. It is a great time to talk with them and their staff about this issue. Here is how you can make your voice heard:
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Call your two U.S. Senators in their district office. Tell whoever answers the phone: |
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"I am calling to urge Senator_______________ to co-sponsor state Medicaid program bills. These bills would provide badly needed fiscal relief for state Medicaid programs." |
You can find contact information for your representative's district office on their websites. Go to www.senate.gov. You can also find this information on Project Inform's legislative directory at http://www.projectinform.org/org/FedLegislative/index.html. If you need help finding out who represents you in Congress, go to www.vote-smart.org.
Adopt a Congressperson Campaign!
Thank you for helping us with securing co-sponsors for the Early Treatment of HIV Act (ETHA). With your help, we hope to strengthen bipartisan support for this bill and increase the chances of moving it forward.
Here is some information to help you with your efforts to encourage people in your district/state to
communicate with their Representatives/Senators about this issue.
If you would like to get Action Alerts about ETHA and other policy issues, join Project Inform's Treatment Action Network (TAN) by emailing tan@projectinform.org.
Background information on ETHA
ETHA is a bill pending in Congress that would allow states to extend Medicaid coverage to include low-income, pre-disabled people living with HIV. Current Medicaid eligibility requirements are so strict that many low-income people living with HIV are unable to qualify for the program until they become disabled by AIDS. This legislation would allow states to provide early access to care and treatment for thousands of low-income people living with HIV. It would also help relieve the fiscal burden on other safety net care and treatment programs like the Ryan White CARE Act and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).
U.S. Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) introduced ETHA in the 109th Congress. ETHA currently has 33 co-sponsors in Senate.
Click here for more background information on ETHA
What can you do to help?
Senators need to hear from their own constituents that this bill is important and how it would help them or people they know, care about, and/or provide services for in the district.
There are several ways that you can help with this effort:
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Write a letter to your Senator urging him/her to co-sponsor ETHA. Ask your friends, family, and colleagues to do the same.
Sample letter to Senator(s) -->
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Make a phone call to your Senator's office. Letters are more effective than phone calls, so it would be best if you wrote a letter and followed it up with a phone call. But phone calls are also important, especially if you can organize several people to call as well, preferably as part of a "call-in day."
Sample phone message to Senator(s) -->
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Organize a meeting with your Senator or their staff in the district office. These face-to-face meetings are among the most effective ways to influence an elected official. You can bring a few people who can talk about how this bill would benefit them or people they know.
If you need help setting up a district visit, contact Ryan Clary at (415) 558-8669 x224 or rclary@projectinform.org. We can help provide tips on how to schedule and organize an effective district meeting, and will get you fact sheets and other information about ETHA for your visit. |
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Write a letter to the editor about ETHA to your local newspaper. Members of Congress pay attention to what their constituents have to say in these letters. The letter should be very brief, personalized, and state that the Senator should co-sponsor the bill. |
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Talk to your Senator at local events/town meetings. Most members of Congress are often in their home districts/states and attend public events or hold town meetings to inform constituents about their activities. These make good opportunities to ask them in public to co-sponsor the bill. |
Sample Letter (for Senators):
The Honorable ______________
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator____________
I am writing to urge you to co-sponsor the Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA).
This bill, authored by Senators Smith (R-OR) and Clinton (D-NY) would allow states to extend Medicaid coverage to pre-disabled people living with HIV. It represents a breakthrough in assuring early access to care for thousands of low-income people living with HIV. Current HIV treatments are successfully delaying the progression from HIV infection to AIDS, improving the health and quality of life for many people living with the disease. However, without access to early intervention health care and treatment, these advances remain out of reach for many non-disabled, low-income people with HIV.
(Please insert a personal statement here. You might discuss how this bill would affect you, someone you care about, or your clients if you are a service provider.)
A 2003 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that if ETHA is passed and implemented by the states, the death rate of people living with HIV on Medicaid would be cut in half over a ten-year period. It also revealed that over a ten-year period, ETHA would save millions of dollars in the Medicaid program. It is a humane and cost-effective bill and I hope you will do everything in your power to help it become law.
To sign on to this legislation, please contact (include either Senator Smith's office if a Republican Senator or Senator Clinton's office if a Democrat Senator).
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Your name
Sample phone message (for Senators):
I am calling to urge Senator_____________ to co-sponsor the Early Treatment for HIV Act. This bill would allow states to extend Medicaid coverage to low-income people with HIV who haven't yet become disabled. It is a humane and cost-effective bill. To co-sponsor the bill, please contact (Senator Gordon Smith's office if you are asking a Republican Senator and Senator Clinton's Office if you are asking a Democrat Senator).
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