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NATAP LAUDS COBURN BILL'S RECOGNITION OF CO-INFECTION NEEDS AND ADAP IMPROVEMENTS.
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580 Broadway
New York, N.Y. 10012
Tel. 212 219-0106
NATAP LAUDS COBURN RYAN WHITE CARE ACT BILL'S RECOGNITION OF CO-INFECTION NEEDS AND ADAP IMPROVEMENTS.
Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has introduced the Ryan White CARE Act Amendments of 2006 which re-authorizes and updates the CARE Act for an additional 5 years. The CARE Act was first authorized in 1990 and funding has grown from $257 million in 1991 to over $2 billion in 2006. While funding for the CARE Act has increased dramatically, many with HIV are on waiting lists for life saving AIDS medications and others face formulary restrictions. Moreover, HIV has changed demographically and medically since the CARE Act's last re-authorization in 2000. "Updating the CARE Act to better meet the specific needs of patients who are coinfected with HIV and HCV or HCB is crucial to achieving its basic aims," said Jules Levin, Executive Director of NATAP. The National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project
This bill makes a number of important reforms such as, recognizing the special needs of the co-infected, authorizing annual increases of $70million for ADAP, separate funding of at least $35 million annually for ADAP supplemental grants to states with program deficiencies, and improving efforts to identify those with HIV through Rapid HIV Testing. The Ryan White CARE Act Amendments of 2006, were written with input from many AIDS community leaders across the country.
Jules Levin, who testified on co-infection before the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV-AIDS, then chaired by Coburn, said: "The Coburn bill is a big step toward recognition of the too long neglected needs of co-infected patients. Because of his experience as a Doctor and his outstanding record of leadership on AIDS, Senator Coburn is uniquely well qualified to write amendments updating and reforming the vital Ryan White Care Act. NATAP applaud's his leadership in acting to move a bill that has been stalled to the detriment of people with HIV/AIDS across America. Section 9 of the Coburn Amendments specificly addresses "Coverage for Treatment for Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Co-infection" Of particular importance is the call "to educate healthcare providers and service providers regarding identification, treatment and treatment adherence" of coinfected patients. Co-infection is an area where more and better education is desperately needed; Coburn's bill will help meet that need." Though 30% of American's with HIV have hepatitis C virus co-infection and 5-8% have hepatitis B virus co-infection, the patient populations who access care through the Ryan White Care Act have higher rates of hepatitis co-infection. African-Americans and Latinos have disproportionately higher rates of hepatitis co-infection; as well, HCV/HIV co-infection is the leading cause of death and hospitalization among people with HIV, except for AIDS.
Jim Driscoll, NATAP Federal Affairs Advisory, who advocates for ADAP on behalf of NATAP, said, "the Coburn Amendments authorize ADAP increases of $70M/year which is more than in the last several years. Setting a 70M increase target will facilitate securing adequate increases. Making the ADAP supplement a separate appropriation of 5-8% of the ADAP total will increase ADAP by removal of the current cap; it will be difficult to underfund the supplement since that will directly cause waiting lists. ADAP will benefit from Dr. Coburn's out o the box thinking."
Jules Levin added, "we urge Congress to act quickly and to fully include Dr. Coburn's valuable proposals on co-infection and ADAP in the re-authoization of the CARE ACT. People with AIDS, especially those co-infected with HCV or HBV, have waited too long and many cannot afford to wait much longer for essential updates and reforms."
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