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Biden Actually Has a House and Senate Majority. So What Should We Push For?
Advocates say that a big fat COVID bill must come first, followed by a Medicare public option. (Oh ... and then there’s impeachment.)

New York State HIV and Health Providers Are Terrified of This Impending Cut From Gov. Cuomo’s Office
Activists and health care providers say that planned cuts in the Medicaid 340B program will decimate their funding for crucial services to vulnerable populations during COVID—and destroy the state’s goal of ending the HIV epidemic.

What Exactly Is Molecular Surveillance—and Why Are HIV Advocates Freaking Out Over It?
It’s a way of analyzing the genetic makeup of different people’s HIV to draw connections among cases for prevention purposes—but some are worried it could be used to criminalize people with HIV.

I Am Jealous of COVID-19
What would happen if we doubled the budget for an HIV cure? It would still be far less money than has already been spent on COVID-19 vaccines. Both are worthy of investment.

HIV Ally Rochelle Walensky Will Lead the CDC Under Biden. Can She Rehab the Agency After Four Years of Trump?
Walensky is an expert on implementing health care solutions and is widely respected among HIV advocates. She’s also the second recent senior CDC hire who’s white, at a time when health crises are hitting people of color especially hard.

Oregon Just Became the First State to Decriminalize Small Amounts of Hard Drugs Like Heroin and Meth. Will Other States Follow?
Measure 110 passed comfortably, signaling widespread (if not total) agreement that treatment, not arrest, is the way to solve the state’s drug-use crisis.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Is a Perfect Storm for People With Substance Use Disorders and Addiction
Between social distancing, depression caused by loss and unemployment, and the shortage of services caused by austerity measures, people struggling with substance use have many challenges and little support.

Trump’s Leaving, But Health Care Challenges Remain. Where Do We Go From Here?
We checked in with some top advocates about why (and how) the HIV community must continue to mobilize in the face of an undecided Senate majority and an uncertain future for health care in the U.S.

Amy Coney Barrett Is a Threat to the Affordable Care Act—and the Transgender and Disabled People Who Depend on It
A six-to-three conservative majority on the Supreme Court—now including Justice Barrett—could repeal the law in its entirety.

New York Advocates Say Cuomo Is Allowing a Drug Use Disaster to Happen During COVID
Echoing nationwide reports, they cite more overdose deaths and dirty-needle use—and say that the governor could reverse much of the crisis with a stroke of the pen.