Sign-On with NMAC in Fighting against Federal Medicaid Cuts

Deadline for Signatures: Tuesday, January 25

Please join us in fighting against the federal Medicaid cuts
that are expected this year. Show your support for those whose
lives are dependent upon receiving care through Medicaid.
Medicaid supports 55 percent of all people living with HIV/AIDS;
without it, many could not live longer and healthier lives.
Support those who have signed this letter and wish to build
healthier communities.

The current list of signatures is at the bottom of the letter;
organizations are listed by state. The signature submission
deadline is Tuesday, January 25, 5 p.m. EST.

Signature Information:

To sign this letter, which is posted below, contact Lei Chou via
e-mail: theaccessproject@....

*Please note: Only organizations can submit signatures.

Please provide the following information in your e-mail:

Organization Name:
Address:
City/State/Zip:
Telephone:
Contact Person/Title:
E-mail:

Additional Information:

If you have any questions or concerns, contact Ryan Clary by
e-mail.

----Sign on letter----
Protect Medicaid for People With HIV

The President
The White House
[1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW]
Washington, DC 20500

[Date]

Dear Mr. President:

The undersigned organizations that serve and advocate for people
living with and at risk for HIV/AIDS are writing to strongly
urge you not to propose cuts in Medicaid funding and/or any
changes in the program's structure that would alter the
open-ended financing for states. We also urge you not to weaken
the individual entitlement or other key consumer protections
that have helped Medicaid to serve the national interest so
effectively for nearly four decades.

Medicaid is the largest source of federal financing for HIV/AIDS
care in the United States. The program provides access to
healthcare for 55% of all people living with HIV/AIDS, and 90%
of all children living with AIDS. It plays a critical role in
providing access to anti-HIV drugs that forestall illness and
disability, and allow people to live longer, more productive
lives. While Medicare and the Ryan White CARE Act are vital
components of the national system of health care for people with
HIV/AIDS, they do not have the resources and are not
appropriately designed to respond to unmet needs if structure
changes were made to Medicaid that would result in either fewer
people qualifying for coverage or if states were forced to
restrict services. Thus, any cuts or changes in Medicaid's
financing structure will seriously jeopardize access to HIV/AIDS
care in the United States.

Furthermore, we are firmly opposed to changes in the current
structure of the Medicaid program that would turn the program
into a block grant or cap federal funding. The individual
entitlement provided under Medicaid is essential. The reliable
and consistent federal funding stream allows the program to
respond to increases in demand as more people with AIDS are
identified - an important goal of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention's Advancing HIV Prevention initiative,
and supports access to more effective, less toxic anti-HIV
therapies as they are developed.

The health of our country's most vulnerable residents must be
viewed as a priority. We ask that you create a budget proposal
for FY 2006 that ensures adequate Medicaid funding and maintains
the program's current structure so that it can continue to meet
the needs of people with HIV/AIDS and others who rely on this
lifesaving program.

[List in formation]

Alabama

Mobile AIDS Support Services, Mobile, AL
West Alabama AIDS Outreach, Tuscaloosa, AL

Alaska

HIV/AIDS Services for African Americans in Alaska, Anchorage, AK

Arizona

BorderLand AIDS Services Team (BLAST), Huachuca City, AZ
HIV/AIDS Law Project Volunteer Lawyers Program, Phoenix, AZ
Pueblo Family Physicians, Phoenix, AZ

California

AIDS Education Global Information System, San Juan Capistrano,
CA
AIDS/HIV Health Alternatives, North Hollywood, CA
AIDS Housing Alliance, Sacramento, CA
AIDS Medicare Coalition Project, San Francisco CA
Families In New Directions, Inc., Los Angeles, CA
F.O.U.N.D., Los Angeles, CA
Home Health Care Management, Inc., Chico, CA
MAAP Inc., Sacramento, CA
National Health Law Program, Los Angeles, CA
Pan Pacific Consulting, North Hollywood, CA
The Perinatal Council, Oakland, CA
Project Inform, San Francisco, CA
Recovery Options, Los Angeles, CA
The Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation (REAF), San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Suicide Prevention, AIDS/HIV/HepC Nightline, CA
Tarzana Treatment Centers, Reseda, CA
University of California/Department of Psychiatry, San Diego, CA
Western Pacific Med Corp, Glendale, CA

Colorado

Disabled Resource Services, Fort Collins, CO
The San Luis Valley HIV/AIDS Coalition, South Fork, CO

Connecticut

Leeway, Inc., New Haven, CT

[District of Columbia] D.C.

AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth & Families, Washington, DC
The AIDS Institute, Washington, DC
American Academy of HIV Medicine, Washington, DC
CAEAR Coalition: Communities Advocating Emergency AIDS Relief,
Washington, DC
Center for Women Policy Studies, Washington, DC
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Washington, DC
Human Rights Campaign, Washington, DC
National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors,
Washington, DC
National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA-US)
National Minority AIDS Council, Washington, DC
Title II Community AIDS National Network, Washington, DC

Florida

ACT UP MIAMI, FL
Hendry/Glades Departments of Health, Labelle, Florida
Hep-C ALERT, Inc., North Miami, FL
The River Fund, Sebastian, FL

Georgia

Georgia Rural Urban Summit, Decatur, GA
Greater Deliverance Ministries, Inc., Blakely, GA

Idaho

North Idaho AIDS Coalition, Coeur d'Alene, ID

Illinois

The AIDS Drug Assistance Protocol Fund, Chicago, IL
AIDS Foundation of Chicago, IL
Canticle Ministries, Wheaton, IL
Chicago House and Social Service Agency, IL
Metro Hetro (HIV+ Support Group), Beckemeyer, IL
University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, Heart of
Illinois
HIV/AIDS Center, Peoria, IL

Indiana

The Bethlehem House, Indianapolis, IN

Louisiana

Brotherhood Task Force of NWLa, Shreveport, LA
HIV/AIDS Alliance for Region Two, Inc. (HAART), Baton Rouge, LA

Maine

Eastern Maine AIDS Network (EMAN), Bangor, ME
Maine HIV Advisory Committee, Scarborough, ME
Portland Department of Health and Human Services/Infectious
Disease Program, ME

Maryland

AIDS Action Baltimore, MD
Treatment Access Expansion Project, Silver Spring, MD

Massachusetts

AIDS Action Committee, Boston, MA
OASIS HIV Consortium, Danvers, MA
Provincetown AIDS Support Group, MA
[Tapestry Health, Florence, MA]
Tri-County AIDS Consortium, Provincetown, MA

Michigan

Community Aids Resources and Education Services of Southwest
Michigan, Kalamazoo, MI
Michigan Advocates Exchange, Inc., Belleville MI
Law Office of Kendra S. Kleber & Associates PLLC, Belleville, MI
University of Michigan HIV/AIDS Treatment Program, Arbor, MI

Missouri

The AIDS Foundation of St. Louis, MO
Good Samaritan Project, Kansas City, MO
National Rural Health Association, Kansas City, MO

Nevada

Ryan White Title I Las Vegas EMA Planning Council, Las Vegas, NV


New Hampshire

AIDS Response-Seacoast, Portsmouth, NH
AIDS Services for the Monadnock Region, Keene, NH

New Jersey

Cooper Early Intervention Program, Camden, NJ
Hyacinth AIDS Foundation, New Brunswick, NJ
JSAS Healthcare, Inc., Asbury Park, NJ
New Jersey Association on Correction, Trenton NJ

New Mexico

New Mexico Poz Coalition, Santa Fe, NM
Planet Poz, Santa Fe, NM

New York

Academy for Educational Development, New York, NY
AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA), New York,
NY
AIDS Treatment Data Network, New York, NY
Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth, Melville, NY
CitiWide Harm Reduction, Bronx, NY
CHAMP (Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project), New York, NY
Empire State Coalition of Youth and Family Services, New York,
NY
Harm Reduction Coalition, New York, NY
The HOPE Center, St. John's Riverside Hospital, Yonkers, NY
Housing Works, New York, NY
NETWORTH/Positive Action, Pleasant Valley, NY
New York AIDS Coalition, New York, NY
NYC AIDS Housing Network, Brooklyn, NY
The NYC Association of Homeless and Street-Involved Youth
Organizations, New York, NY
North General Hospital/Dept. of HIV/AIDS, New York, NY
Treatment Action Group, New York, NY
Village Care of New York, NY
Welch Terrace Apartment, Syracuse, NY

North Carolina

AMITY Outreach Ministry, Roxboro, NC
Brother 2 Brother, INC., Winston- Salem, NC
The Philadelphia House, Greenville, NC
Right Turns for Youth, Winston-Salem, NC
Western North Carolina AIDS Project, Asheville, NC

Ohio

Ohio AIDS Coalition, Columbus, OH

Oregon

AIDS Action Group NorthWest (AAPNW), Portland OR
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon HIV Services program, Portland,
OR
Hepatitis C Caring Ambassadors Program, Oregon City, OR
HIV Advocacy Project of Oregon and SW Washington, Portland OR
HIV Alliance, Eugene, OR

Pennsylvania

ACTUP Philadelphia, PA
ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Philadelphia, PA
Angelic Cleaning, Philadelphia, PA
Family Service Association of Bucks County HIV/AIDS Program,
Langhorne, PA
PLGTF Pennsylvania Lesbian and Gay Task Force, Philadelphia, PA

Rhode Island

AIDS Project Rhode Island, Providence, RI
The Immunology Center, Miriam Hospital, Brown University,
Providence, RI

Tennessee

Tennessee AIDS Support Services, Inc., Knoxville, TN

Texas

The Advocacy Project of Texas, Houston, TX
Beat Aids, San Antonio, TX
GIFF, God in Full Force, Dallas, TX
International AIDS Empowerment, El Paso, TX
People's Caucus, San Antonio, TX
Texas AIDS Network, Austin, TX
Tyler AIDS Services, Inc., Tyler, TX

Vermont

Vermont People with AIDS Coalition, Montpelier, VT

Virginia

HIV Medicine Association, Alexandria, VA

Washington

Frontline Hepatitis Awareness, Monroe, WA
Pierce County AIDS Foundation, Tacoma, WA
Seattle HIV/AIDS Planning Council, WA

Wisconsin

AIDS Network, Madison, WI

_____________________________________________________________________

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