North American AIDS Housing Summit
June 2-June 5, 2009

New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler will hold a press conference to announce the introduction of a Congressional resolution establishing the critical role of housing in fighting HIV and AIDS. The press conference is the unofficial kickoff of a three-day international AIDS Housing summit, featuring appearances by White House AIDS chief Jeffrey Crowley and renowned humanitarian Stephen Lewis.

The press conference will take place outside the Cannon House Office Building at 300 New Jersey Ave (and Independence Ave), SE, Washington, DC on Tuesday, June 2 at 12:30pm.

The press conference with Congressman Nadler will also include people living with HIV/AIDS in need of housing, representatives from the National AIDS Housing Coalition, Housing Works, the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN), the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and others.

A raft of studies have proven that providing housing for poor people living with HIV/AIDS dramatically improves health outcomes; however, funding for AIDS housing remains woefully inadequate. The Housing Summit will address the fact that more than 350 residents of the District of Columbia with HIV/AIDS are on waiting lists for federally subsidized AIDS housing.

For more information contact Virginia Shubert or David Thorpe. Contact David Thorpe at 1-646-210-1805

Support President Obama's
Health Care Reform

• Reduce Costs — Rising health care costs are crushing the budgets of governments, businesses, individuals and families and they must be brought under control
• Guarantee Choice — Americans must have the freedom to keep whatever doctor and health care plan they have, or to select a new doctor or health care plan if they choose
• Ensure Quality Care for All - All Americans must have quality and affordable health care

Tell your story!

2009 Federal Poverty Guidelines

The 2009 Federal Poverty Guidelines have been released to the Federal Register. These guidelines help determine eligibility for a great number of programs.

New York Case Management

For HIV+ people - insured or not insured or barely insured or having trouble with co-payments or accessing what you need because you're broke. No fee, charge or insurance required. Apply for ADAP, ADAP Plus, APIC, Medicaid, Sustainable Living Fund and other programs for HIV-positive New Yorkers. E-mail us at The Network, or call our toll-free number at (800) 734-7104 for help getting treatment or co-payment assistance, housing relief, insurance or benefits assistance, health care, living expenses, food, dealing with hepatitis co-infection, legal referrals and counseling. HIV+ people anywhere in the New York City area welcome to join.

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Jack Waters is a long time friend and serves on the Board of Directors of The Network. He started a Facebook Cause for The Network.

Get Help and Act!

• The Access Project - If you need assistance with ADAP, Medicaid, Medicare, State Insurance Programs, viral hepatitis (hepatitis C or B), or other state resources please first visit The Access Project page for your state. Let us know if you need information with drug co-payments, a Patient Assistance Program, a drug discount card, or less expensive prescription drug prices. Please use the Request Assistance form.


• Drug Co-Payment Assistance - Some people with commercial insurance are having a tough time paying the co-payments required when they get their medications. Now, some drug companies have programs that covers some or all of the co-payments for their HIV medications. Tell us if you need help with your HIV or viral hepatitis (Hep C or Hep B) medications.


• New York State - In New York State call us toll-free or e-mail us and we will either get you enrolled on ADAP, get your commercial health insurance premium paid for, find you health care through an ADAP Plus provider, or just explain your options. Statewide just call 1-800-734-7104


• Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA) - The Early Treatment for HIV Act Is Cost-Effective, Improves Health, Reduces HIV-Related Deaths, and Helps Prevent the Spread of HIV. Fact Sheet

• Request Assistance
• HIV Treatments
• Hepatitis Treatments
• The Access Project
• Patient Assistance Programs

Medicaid Watch

Medicaid Watch of May 2009 has been released by Community AIDS National Network (CANN). This resource is updated on a monthly basis, and contains information on many programs including Medicaid as it exists in different states.

ADAP as TRooP

"ADAPs provide access to critical medications for approximately 140,000 individuals in communities across the U.S. every year. When ADAP does not count toward TrOOP (the donut hole or coverage gap), it requires ongoing ADAP spending that cannot be used to help other needy people with HIV/AIDS. However, when ADAP does count toward TrOOP, catastrophic coverage frees up ADAP dollars to help other needy individuals. The National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) has estimated that if ADAP expenditures counted towards TrOOP, it would save ADAP programs $25 to $44 million.

Housing Resources of all kinds - in case you didn't know this resource exists. In New York City, call us for HIV housing resources available through our case management program.

Hepatitis C Book

It's called Hepatitis C Choices . This is the 4th edition. The 3rd edition was great. The 4th is a learning and counseling experience you won't soon forget. In fact, before you even start the book you might want to orient yourself to the whole idea of being HCV positive. It's called Hep C Discussion Point. You get very helpful responses to the questions you need answered.

Urge Congress to end the Two Year Waiting Period!

The Medicare Rights Center and over one hundred other organizations nationwide are trying to put an end to a dangerous two year waiting period before people on disability can get Medicare. "Nearly 7 million Americans under age 65 qualify for Medicare due to severe and permanent disabilities. However, their coverage doesn’t begin immediately or automatically when they first become disabled.

The law states that they must wait two full years from the date their Social Security Disability Insurance begins before they can receive Medicare. This 24-month waiting period exposes millions to financial hardship, pain and suffering.

According to a 2003 study by the Commonwealth Fund, as many as one-third of those in the waiting period may be uninsured or have inadequate insurance coverage. By the time they obtain Medicare coverage, 77 percent are poor or nearly poor. Close to half have incomes below the poverty line. After qualifying for Social Security Disability Income (SSDI), nearly 12 percent of individuals die while still in the Medicare waiting period.

Congress has already acknowledged that the 24-month waiting period can be a death sentence for people with specific diseases—it has already eliminated the waiting period for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) for which a lack of treatment is fatal. Now it’s time for Congress to eliminate the 24-month waiting period for all other people with disabilities."