In the news ... 2007

PI ACTION ALERT:
Urge Your Senators to Co-sponsor
Early Treatment for HIV Act

June 25, 2007

Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) recently reintroduced S. 860, the Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA). The House version is expected to be introduced in the next month.

ETHA would allow states to extend Medicaid coverage to include low-income people with HIV who have not yet become disabled by AIDS. This would help people with HIV get early access to care and treatment. It would also help relieve the financial burden on other programs, such as the AIDS Drug Assistance Program.

ETHA would save lives. One study shows that if passed and implemented, ETHA would reduce by 50% the death rate for people with HIV on Medicaid.

Now that the bill has been introduced, we need as many Senate cosponsors as possible. The more Senators that sign on (and the more bipartisan the list), the better the chance of passing this bill into law.

Please take a few minutes to call your two U.S. Senators and ask them to cosponsor ETHA!

How you can help:

Call your two U.S. Senators in their Washington, DC office toll-free at 1-800-614-2803. You will get the Capitol Switchboard. Ask to be connected to your Senator’s office.

Once you reach your Senator’s office, ask to speak to the staffperson who handles HIV or healthcare issues. Tell them you are a constituent and you urge the Senator to cosponsor S. 860, the Early Treatment for HIV Act. If your Senator is a Republican, they should contact Senator Smith’s office to sign. If they are a Democrat, they should contact Senator Clinton’s office.

Be personal in your conversation. Tell the office why improving access to care/treatment for people with HIV is important to you or people you care about.

If your Senator is on the following list, they have already cosponsored ETHA. Please take a minute to call and thank them for their leadership!

Senator Evan Bayh (D-Indiana)
Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico)
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California)
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Washington)
Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-Maryland)
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) **Lead author
Senator Norm Coleman (R-Minnesota)
Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine)
Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut)
Senator Richard Durbin (D-Illinois)
Senator Russell Feingold (D-Wisconsin)
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California)
Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii)
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts)
Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey)
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)
Senator Carl Levin (D-Michigan)
Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas)
Senator Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey)
Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington)
Senator Bill Nelson (D-Florida)
Senator Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island)
Senator Bernard Sanders (I-Vermont)
Senator Charles Schumer (D-New York)
Senator Gordon Smith (R-Oregon) **Lead author
Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)
Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania)
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan)
Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon)

For more information about ETHA, go to www.taepusa.org. You can also read the bill text, and follow its status, at http://thomas.loc.gov (enter the bill number, S. 860).