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HHS Reduces Premiums And Eases Enrollment Requirements For Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plans – Starting today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will reduce insurance premiums by up to 40 percent for federally-administered Pre-Existing Condition Insurance plans (PCIPs) in 18 states and the District of Columbia. The HHS will also no longer require patients to have a denial letter from an insurance company to enroll. Patients still must be U.S. citizens or legal residents, have been without health insurance for at least six months, and have a letter from a health care provider stating that they have or had a medical condition, disability, or illness. PCIPs are insurance plans for people who have pre-existing conditions, including HIV or AIDS, that have made it difficult or impossible to find private health insurance (see related AIDS Beacon news). For more information, please see the HHS press release or the Healthcare.gov website.
CDC Organizes “HIV/AIDS: 30 Years of Leadership and Lessons” Lecture Series – To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the first official report of AIDS by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the CDC has put together a series of lectures on the past, present, and future of HIV and AIDS in the U.S. The lectures will begin on June 10 and go through the month of August. They will be held at different locations throughout Atlanta. The talks will discuss key moments that shaped the development of HIV over the past three decades as well as issues such as HIV testing, prevention, and social issues and activism. In addition, the CDC will be sponsoring an online community that will allow individuals affected by HIV to share their stories and experiences. For more information or the lecture series schedule, please see the CDC website.
EMEA Advisory Committee Recommends Approval For Victrelis In Europe – An advisory committee to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has recommended that U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck’s new hepatitis C treatment, Victrelis (boceprevir) be approved for use in combination with the current standard hepatitis C treatment, peginterferon alfa (PegIntron or Pegasys) plus ribavirin (Copegus, Rebetol). The recommendation improves the chances for approval of the drug in Europe; a decision is expected within two to three months. Victrelis was approved in the U.S. earlier this month, along with Incivek (telaprevir), a second new hepatitis C treatment in the same drug class. For more information, please see the Merck press release.
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A new government website, Healthcare.gov, offers information about insurance options created by the recent health care reform act, including the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP).
The website, created by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, features a “Find Insurance Options” tool to help patients find the health insurance best suited to their needs, including the PCIP program.
A pre-existing condition is defined as a medical condition that exists before a patient enrolls in a new health insurance plan. Conditions that a person has received treatment for, or…
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People living with HIV/AIDS may encounter discrimination in many areas of their life, including obtaining and keeping health insurance and employment. However, HIV-positive individuals are protected by federal law in the employment arena, which includes obtaining employment, job assignments, promotions, wages, and firing policies.
In 1990,the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed to insure that individuals with disabilities were not discriminated against. HIV and AIDS are both considered disabilities under this law. However, the ADA only applies to public and private employers who have 15 or more employees.
Individuals…