Treatment
and Care Subcommittee Resolution #1:
WHEREAS the care and treatment of persons living with HIV/AIDS is a high priority for this Administration and an important part of an effective national public health strategy, and
WHEREAS the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, provides primary care, treatment and essential support services to approximately 533,000 underserved people living with HIV/AIDS, and
WHEREAS the Ryan White CARE Act will need to be reauthorized in 2005 in order to continue to provide federal funding, and
WHEREAS The Ryan White CARE Act has achieved its primary goal of providing comprehensive care to people who would not otherwise have been able to access it with fifty percent of clients living below the federal poverty line; more than 90 percent with no private health insurance and almost two-thirds that are racial and ethnic minorities, then
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) supports the reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the President of the United States work closely with members of Congress to ensure timely reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act in 2005 bearing in mind the following principles:
- Federal resources should focus on ensuring that all underserved HIV+ Americans have access to a core set of services including primary medical care, medications, case management, oral health, mental health/substance abuse treatment and support services that foster adherence to life-sustaining medications and allow people to stay in care.
- HIV/AIDS care, treatment and prevention should be guided by proven public health strategies and based on current scientific knowledge.
- Provide greater flexibility to target Ryan White CARE Act resources better to address areas of greatest need, especially emerging populations and the chronically underserved.
- Strengthen the Minority AIDS Initiative to expand capacity in minority communities and fund minority-serving providers.
- Ensure access, at best possible pricing, to all medically necessary medications, including antiretrovirals, opportunistic infection treatment and prophylaxis, co-infections including hepatitis C, co-morbidities including mental illnesses and side effects associated with both HIV.
- Ensure the integration of HIV prevention services into primary care.
- Ensure accountability for all providers of Ryan White CARE Act funded services.
PASSED
