Help Ensure People with HIV/AIDS Are Protected by the New
Medicare Drug Program

Letters and online comments due October 4

The HIV Medicare and Medicaid Working Group (HIVMMWG), a
national coalition of advocates working to protect and expand
Medicaid and Medicare for people living with HIV/AIDS, is urging
for a massive and united response to ensure that people with
HIV/AIDS receive protections in the final regulations of the
Medicare Modernization Act
(http://ga1.org/ct/MpqEh741qpK_/Medicare_Act/), which was
signed into law last December.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
(http://ga1.org/ct/M7qEh741qpKL/CMS), the federal agency that
oversees Medicare, has released its proposed regulations on how
it intends to implement this law in 2006. In an effort to ensure
that people with HIV/AIDS are protected by the new program and
have affordable access to the FDA-approved antiretroviral
medications, HIVMMWG has created a sample letter to petition
this request.

Sample Letter:
Feel free to cut and paste this letter. Be sure to include your
name and contact information as directed. It is especially
important if you receive Medicare benefits to add a personal
message to the letter. It will help show the federal government
how this bill will affect people's lives.

If you need help crafting your message, please e-mail Ryan Clary
at: rclary@....

--Text of letter--

[Your Name]
[Your Address]

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Department of Health
and Human Services
Attention: CMS-4068-P
P.O. Box 8014
Baltimore, MD 21244-8014

To Whom It May Concern:

I am responding to the proposed rule "Medicare Program; Medicare
Prescription Drug Benefit," 69 FR 46632. I am concerned that the
current rule does not provide sufficient protection for people
with HIV/AIDS who will receive their treatment through this
benefit.

CMS must designate people living with HIV/AIDS as a "special
population" and ensure that they have access to an open
formulary of prescription drugs and access to all medications at
the preferred level of cost-sharing. This would ensure that
HIV-positive individuals would have affordable access to all
FDA-approved antiretrovirals, in all approved formulations, as
is recommended by the Public Health Service HIV treatment
guidelines.

[INSERT PERSONAL STATEMENT HERE. If you are on Medicare, talk
about how these regulations will affect you. Otherwise, write a
couple of sentences about the need for people with HIV to have
full access to treatment, regardless of ability to pay.]

Thank you for considering my comments as you finalize the
regulations.

Sincerely,

[Your Signature]

[Your name]

Letter and Online Comment Submission:
Written comments can be made either online or by postal mail. To
submit comments online, click here:
http://ga1.org/ct/N1qEh741qpKA/Online_Comments/. If you make
comments online, please e-mail a copy of these comments to
rclary@... so we can track the community response.

To submit comments by postal mail, please send the letter to the
address mentioned in the sample letter as soon as possible to
ensure that it arrives no later than Monday, October 4.

Additional Information:
The HIV Medicare and Medicaid Workgroup is a coalition of
national, state and local AIDS advocacy organizations, community
groups, healthcare providers and universities committed to
ensuring that people living with HIV/AIDS have access to
appropriate, cost-effective health care and drug treatment.
HIVMMWG is an affiliated working group of the Federal AIDS
Policy Partnership. The working group is committed to protecting
and expanding coverage for people living with HIV/AIDS under
Medicare and Medicaid.
____________________________________________________________________

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