Treat Lipodystrophy Coalition
GLAD and the Treat Lipodystrophy Coalition are working with Massachusetts Rep. Carl Sciortino to pass An Act Relative to HIV-Associated Lipodystrophy Treatment.
This bill requires private insurers, MassHealth, and the Group Insurance Commission to provide medical treatment for lipodystrophy, a disfiguring side-effect of lifesaving, but highly toxic, HIV medications.
HIV antiviral medications, known as “triple combination therapy” or “the cocktail,” revolutionized AIDS care in the 1990’s, extending the lives of people with HIV. These medications also can result in lipodystrophy, the abnormal distribution of body fat. The condition creates “visible disfiguring and stigmatizing morphological changes” in body shape and appearance, causing profound physical and psychological harm to people with HIV.
While there are inexpensive, effective medical treatments for lipodystrophy, insurers routinely deny claims for treatment on the basis that they are cosmetic and not medically necessary.
For more information, read the fact sheet and visit the TLC page at www.glad.org/tlc
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Advocating for Insurance Coverage of the HPV Vaccine for Boys
GLAD is working to make sure young LGBTQ people live in a world in which they can safely be who they are and be healthy. That means a world free of bullying and harassment, where they can express themselves and form GSAs in schools. And it means a world in which LGBTQ young people have access to health care that meets their needs.
That’s why GLAD recently urged two insurers to cover the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine for boys. The FDA has approved the vaccine for girls 9-26 to protect against cervical cancer and boys of the same age to protect against anal cancer. Young gay men could receive life-saving benefits by receiving the vaccine.
But Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS), our state’s largest insurer, covers the vaccine for girls only, not for boys. All three of the other major Massachusetts insurers are now covering this vaccine that prevents a serious disease, anal cancer, for which gay men and people with HIV are at higher risk.
BCBS’ position puts young gay men at unnecessary risk.
If BCBS is your insurer, please take a moment to call them and tell them they should join their competitors in being responsive to the healthcare needs of young gay men.
GLAD Testimony on Proposed Maine HIV-related Legislation
GLAD submitted testimony April 7, 2011 on two bills before the Main legislature concerning proposed changes to HIV-related law concerning privacy and mother-to-child transmission.
Excerpt from testimony on LD 596
GLAD opposes LD 596 which would eliminate all medical privacy protections in Maine law for HIV status (5 MRSA § 19203-D, ¶¶ A-B). The eradication of specific prohibitions on the disclosure of a patient’s HIV status without the patient’s specific consent will harm individuals and undermine critical public health goals to increase testing and ensure that individuals with HIV seek medical treatment. As the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States concluded in July 2010: “The stigma associated with HIV remains extremely high and fear of discrimination causes some Americans to avoid learning their HIV status, disclosing their HIV status, or accessing medical care.” Read the full testimony
Excerpt from testimony on LD 702
GLAD shares the goal of implementing the best public health strategies to eliminate Mother to Child Transmission (MTCT) of HIV. As explained below, the gold standard public health strategy to reduce MTCT is to ensure that every pregnant woman is offered an HIV test and, if positive, receives medication that will protect her health and reduce the risk of MTCT to less than two percent. For this reason, GLAD supports the provision in this bill requiring physicians to offer HIV testing to all pregnant women. GLAD believes, however, that this provision does not go far enough and must include a requirement that physicians explain to pregnant women the benefits of HIV testing during pregnancy. Read the full testimony
AIDS Law Project Director Ben Klein Testifies On MA HIV Testing Bill
GLAD’s AIDS Law Project Director Ben Klein today presented testimony before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Health in support of S 1108 and H 2906, which would streamline HIV testing while safeguarding patients’ essential legal rights.
GLAD enthusiastically supports S 1108 and H 2906. These bills implement important public health policies that will facilitate the goal of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand HIV testing and link people who test positive to medical care. In addition, although eliminating the requirement of written informed consent for HIV testing, these bills maintain a meaningful process for ensuring that HIV testing remains voluntary and ensuring that patients maintain control over the decision to be tested. Read the complete testimony