Action Alert: Tell Congress to Pass Healthcare Reform and Include ETHA!

The vote for health care reform is happening this week, and it is still possible for the Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA) to be included in the final bill. Ask your member of the House of Representatives to pass health care reform and make ETHA a priority!

ETHA would add HIV coverage to Medicaid rather than forcing people to wait until they are diagnosed with AIDS to get care. According to an analysis when ETHA was first introduced, ETHA would reduce the death rate for persons living with HIV on Medicaid by fifty percent; Slow disease progression and improve health outcomes, with 35,000 more individuals with CD4 counts above 500 under ETHA than under baseline Medicaid, and decrease federal Medicaid spending by nearly $32 million.

Call your rep and say, "My name is _____ and I'm a constituent from (city/state). I'm calling to ask you to vote to pass the health care reform bill. I'd also urge you to include the House Medicaid provisions like the Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA) in the final package."

For more information about why health care reform is important for people living with HIV/AIDS, and to find out who represents you, check out this action alert by AIDS Action.