AAHIVM Says American Health Care Act Shows “Flagrant Disregard” for Millions of the Nation’s Most Vulnerable

25 May AAHIVM Says American Health Care Act Shows “Flagrant Disregard” for Millions of the Nation’s Most Vulnerable

New CBO Score Quantifies Devastating Impact of AHCA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM), the nation’s largest independent HIV care provider organization, today pointed to the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) score of the revised American Health Care Act (AHCA) as proof that the AHCA will deny access to coverage for care and treatment for millions of Americans, including many of the 1.2 million people living with HIV.

According to the CBO, the passage of the AHCA will result in 23 million Americans losing health insurance over the next decade, with lesser savings to the federal deficit than originally projected.

“Now that the CBO score is available, we have a better understanding of the negative impact this bill will have on our country,” said James Friedman, Executive Director of AAHIVM. “We can’t lose sight of the fact that 23 million is not just a statistic.  These are real people that desperately need and deserve access to adequate, affordable health care.”

The ACA allowed almost 20 million people to gain new access to health coverage over the last 4 years, according to figures issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The CBO score indicated the House-passed bill to dismantle the Affordable Care Act would increase the projected number of people without health insurance by 14 million next year, and by 23 million by 2026.

“For too many years, people living with HIV were denied access to insurance until it was made available through the ACA,” stated Margaret Hoffman-Terry, MD, FACP AAHIVS, chair of the AAHIVM Board of Directors. “This plan will directly impact the lives of millions of individuals who will lose access to health care, including many of the HIV patients I see every day.”

The AHCA is now under consideration by the U.S. Senate. Many Senators have indicated they would pay specific attention to the CBO score indications of impact on patients.

“The AHCA, combined with the President’s newly released budget, amounts to a flagrant disregard for the health needs of vulnerable patient groups, including HIV patients and the poor and disabled,” concluded Friedman.

AAHIVM encourages lawmakers in the Senate to keep in place the provisions that protect people with pre-existing conditions, and ensure access, affordability and adequacy of coverage for all Americans.