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MAP Advocate
HIV Advocacy Update
March 14, 2005
Vol. 11. No. 6
Join the MN AIDS Project on April 12th at the Capitol to call upon lawmakers to "fix ADAP" and renew Minnesota's commitment to providing health care for all. Together we can stop cost share increases, which have been devastating. You can read what other states are hearing as result of cost share increases and implementation. In Washington: "I have to say this increase has caused an uproar with clients and pharmacies.I have received letters from two clients stating they will have to stop taking their medication because they can't afford the $20 per month on top of all the other expenses." In Oregon: We "strongly caution against implementing cost sharing if possible. It takes a ton of staff time and has been difficult to enforce equally.in several cases.losing the folks who most need the assistance to access care."
Register for AIDS Action Day today and receive a copy of MAP's "Who Gets Health Care?" DVD. Click here to register or contact MAP Public Policy at 612-373-9162 or 800-243-7321. [Note: Most meetings with legislators will be schedule between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. But ultimately meeting times depend upon legislator availability.]
Check Out the Public Policy Web Page Updates
Take a moment out of your day to view the ultra cool and helpful updates to the public policy Web site. For up to date information on important bills in the legislature go to the bill tracker section on the public policy Web page. Here you can read the latest on the Comprehensive Sex Education bill, Funding to re-establish Minnesota's Sex Ed Regional Training Sites bill and the ADAP and Minnesota's HIV Insurance and Drug Assistance Program bill. For access to recent articles about HIV swing by the news & views section of the public policy Web page. The bill tracker and the news & views pages will be updated on a semi-regular basis. To access the bill tracker section of the public policy webpage click here . To access the news & views section click here .
Pregnancy Prevention Initiatives Bill Hearing Next Week
On Tuesday, March 15 there will be a hearing for the pregnancy prevention initiatives bill [SF 581]. This legislation would reduce pregnancy and abortion by implementing comprehensive sexuality education along with state-based family planning and community outreach for family planning. The hearing starts at 12:00p.m in State Capitol room 15. To view a copy of the bill click here .
African-Born HIV/AIDS Epidemic at the Capitol; Listen
to it on MPR
African-Born Minnesotans are infected with HIV at a rate 20 times that of the general population. Currently there is legislation in both the House [HF 1373] and the Senate [SF 0968] to provide one-time prevention funding to address the emerging epidemic among African-born immigrants in Minnesota. The one-time funding allocation would provide $300,000 dollars to assist with prevention education. On Wednesday, March 9, Minnesota Public Radio's Midmorning spoke to Doras Chirwa, CARE's HIV/AIDS specialist in Zambia, Africa. CARE is dedicated to helping the worlds poorest communities solve their most threatening problems. If you would like to listen to the Midmorning broadcast on the AIDS Pandemic in Africa and how Doras is working to confront it click here. To view a copy of the African-born HIV prevention funding bill in the State legislature click here .
Proposed Medicaid Cuts Hurt People With HIV
Medicaid is the most important source of healthcare funding for people with HIV. Please contact Senator Norm Coleman and tell him to reject Medicaid cuts and funding caps for discretionary spending over the next five years. Click here to contact Senator Coleman.
Your faithful lobbyists have been working very closely with the Revisor's office this week. We're sure many of you have been wondering from a nuts and bolts standpoint how an idea gets translated into bill language. Just who actually authors a bill anyway? Do the legislators actually write it up? Do the lobbyists? Often a bill starts out as a collection of problems and ideas (like: how do we ensure the low-income people living with HIV have access to continuous treatment? I know, let's look at what the Institute of Medicine suggests. Hmm, what would those recommendations look like in bill language?) That's where your friendly revisor comes in. They can take an idea and find the exact language that says what you want to have happen, and how to eliminate what you don't want to happen. Of course, the more precise an idea is, the easier it is to translate into a bill. MAP Public Policy would like to salute the Revisor's office for their help and patience this week in helping us figure out how to ensure that everyone who needs HIV treatment gets HIV treatment---at least in theory. Now, if we can just convince everyone else to vote for it....
Where Will You Be on May 15th?
Where do 10,000 Minnesotan's gather each year to show their support for the fight against AIDS and their power? It's the Minnesota AIDS Walk. Mark your calendar for May 15th the third Sunday in May. But, register to raise funds for this year's Walk right now. Remember, these are the dollars that make it possible to for MAP lead the fight for smart and effective policies at the State Capitol. No public money is used for advocacy and we won't accept funds from the pharmaceutical industry. We need you to support MAP public policy work, and the AIDS Walk is a great way to do it. Click here to get all of the details and set-up your own on-line campaign to collect pledges.
MAP Advocate is published by the Minnesota AIDS Project every two weeks while the Minnesota Legislature is in session, and monthly during the rest of the year. It is available through the MAP Web site and through email list service. If you wish to order the MAP Advocate, visit our Join the Action Network page, or contact MAP Public Policy by phone or email.
MAP Public Policy
Minnesota AIDS Project
1400 Park Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55404
612-341-2060
800-373-2437
public.policy@mnaidsproject.org
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