Occupy HIV - The Body →

December 31, 2011

In the streets they gather
screaming for a future
Lacking jobs, insurance and hope
The other side claims everything is fine

You stole their houses
Their jobs

Let them bail out your bank
Laid them off to thank them
Now you send in the cops
To shut them up

They have nowhere to go
No jobs exist to occupy their time anymore
And it’s because of you

You outsourced their jobs
For cheaper wages
What were they to do

You don’t care
It doesn’t effect you
You profit from our hardship
You smile your ass to the bank
We cut and downsize as best we can

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
We can’t live on less
We can’t cut any more corners

I am a political junkie. I am also a media addict. I majored in journalism and being a total liberal how could I NOT fall in love with the Occupy Wall Street movement? I am the 99 percent. We are just floating along in the water with debt up to our necks.

History is written daily. Little things impact us that we see on the news that we did not expect. Things like Columbine and Katrina, 9/11, Virginia Tech. Well, Occupy found ME. These are MY people. This is MY cause. More than 50 percent of my income goes to rent. The last few weeks we have had rent and gas money and $100.00 for groceries for two weeks – that’s it.

I was supposed to go to the doctor a few months ago and don’t even have the money for my co-pay to get into the doctor. What’s the point of medical insurance when you can’t afford to use it?

We are all affected by the economy. According to HIVPlusMag.com: “HIV-positive residents in 39 U.S. cities may soon be facing difficulty accessing some federally supported AIDS services because of program cuts to offset steep Ryan White funding reductions. The Department of Health and Human Services awarded $595 million nationwide in Ryan White AIDS funds in March; the amount is about $5 million less than distributed in 2003. Funding cuts ranged from 3 to nearly 14 percent …”

How can we logically cut funding? If you are HIV and on meds there has to be some financial help to keep you on meds to keep US out of hospitals. We went to Occupy Seattle, took Myles to his first protest; my dad would be proud. Walked among 500 people fed up with the system. Our generation has needed a movement like this for a long time. They had a sit-in in front of a Chase bank. I hadn’t felt so much unity since AIDS Walk. We need to stand up for each other more in America.

Watching the videos of Occupy Oakland where my brother lives made me sick: police beating nonviolent protesters. Where are we, Iran? Since when did America become against free speech?

Thursday December 1st, eight people were arrested at Occupy Wall Street in New York for protesting cuts to HIV/AIDS housing and services. The cuts in New York alone were $10 million. More than 110,000 people in New York have HIV/AIDS per NY1.com.

To make this issue hit home even more: I was talking to a woman who found me on TheBody.com. She lives in Mozambique and is married, pregnant and HIV . She gets FREE medical care. Free meds at an HIV clinic all sponsored by the U.S. and the UN. She was saying when she was diagnosed her husband wanted to move them to the U.S. for better health care for her and the baby. In talking we have both realized here is NOT better. Not by any means. She gets two months off maternity leave at full pay, free meds. When I was pregnant, my out-of-pocket cost for meds alone was $500 a month.

The ADAP Watch - The Body →

May 17, 2011

**ADAPs With Waiting Lists (8,100 Individuals in 13 States*, as of May 12, 2011)**

Alabama: 12 individuals
Arkansas: 58 individuals
Florida: 3,825 individuals
Georgia: 1,515 individuals
Idaho: 14 individuals
Louisiana: 682 individuals**
Montana: 26 individuals
North Carolina: 235 individuals
Ohio: 397 individuals
South Carolina: 664 individuals
Utah: 0 individuals***
Virginia: 668 individuals
Wyoming: 4 individuals

ADAPs With Other Cost-Containment Strategies (Instituted Since April 1, 2009, as of April 13, 2011)

Arizona: reduced formulary
Arkansas: reduced formulary, lowered financial eligibility to 200% FPL (disenrolled 99 clients in September 2009)
Colorado: reduced formulary
Florida: reduced formulary, transitioned 5,403 clients to Welvista from 2/15-3/31/11
Georgia: reduced formulary, implemented medical criteria, participating in the Alternative Method Demonstration Project (AMDP)
Idaho: capped enrollment
Illinois: reduced formulary, instituted monthly expenditure cap ($2,000 per client per month)
Kentucky: reduced formulary
Louisiana: discontinued reimbursement of laboratory assays
North Carolina: reduced formulary
North Dakota: capped enrollment, instituted annual expenditure cap, lowered financial eligibility to 300% FPL (grandfathered in current clients above 300% FPL)
Ohio: reduced formulary, lowered financial eligibility to 300% FPL (disenrolled 257 clients in July 2010)
Puerto Rico: reduced formulary
South Carolina: lowered financial eligibility to 300% FPL (grandfathered in current clients above 300% FPL)
Utah: reduced formulary, lowered financial eligibility to 250% FPL (disenrolled 89 clients in FY2010)
Virginia: reduced formulary, transitioned 207 clients onto waiting list and PAPs, only distribute 30-day prescription refills
Washington: instituted client cost sharing, reduced formulary (for uninsured clients only), only paying insurance premium for clients currently on antiretrovirals
Wyoming: reduced formulary, instituted client cost sharing

ADAPs Considering New/Additional Cost-Containment Measures (Before March 31, 2012)

Alabama: reduce formulary
Colorado: institute client cost sharing, establish waiting list
Florida: lower financial eligibility
Hawaii: establish waiting list
Illinois: lower financial eligibility to 300% FPL (grandfather in current enrollees from 301 – 500% FPL), disenroll clients not accessing ADAP for 90 days
Kentucky: reduce formulary
Montana: reduce formulary
Oregon: reduce formulary
Puerto Rico: reduce formulary
South Carolina: disenroll 200 clients based on financial eligibility
Tennessee: establish waiting list (as of July 1, 2011)
Washington: cap enrollment, establish waiting list, reduce formulary
Wyoming: reduce formulary

ADAPs With Current or Anticipated Cost-Containment Measures, Including Waiting Lists, May 2011

* As a result of ADAP emergency funding, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, South Dakota and Utah eliminated their waiting lists; Idaho reinstituted a waiting list in February 2011.
** Louisiana has a capped enrollment on their program. This number represents their current unmet need.
*** Utah instituted a waiting list in May 2011. To date, no individuals have been added.
**** March 31, 2012 is the end of ADAP FY2011. ADAP fiscal years begin April 1 and end March 31.