With all the concerns over health insurance reform and how that would help out people living with HIV, positoids managed to score a major victory on the Hill this week when the Ryan White CARE Act was extended for four more years.
Check out the Poz.com article here.
The Ryan White bill received bi-partisan support, getting 408 votes in the House, with only 9 nays. One of which was Ron Paul. He's not against people with AIDS specifically, he just votes no on everything. I say RuPaul run against him for that seat in Texas.
Naysayers to harm reduction aside, the Ryan White CARE Act will provide federal money to assist low-income or uninsured positoids. It's a good system, AIDS Service Organizations really rely on this, and there was a fair amount of concern over the last several months that the Act might not get renewed, given the state of the economy and the fact that domestic HIV/AIDS issues have been off the map for quite some time.
Like Michael Jackson's career boon after his death, the passing of the CARE Act's original co-sponsor, Ted Kennedy, in recent months may have helped move people to move this thing along. Morbid, but in my opinion, true... I'm glad his colleagues and the AIDS community rallied to make this happen.
If you're looking to rally and make things happen, check out the latest issue of Poz magazine, which has an article on advocacy in the internet age. Also, I have an article in it called, "Healthy Debate", about my life as a WPE (Walking Pre-Existing Condition) and attending town hall meetings this summer on health insurance reform.
Check it out. Get inspired. And let's carry the torch for folks like Ryan White and Ted Kennedy, who are no longer here to fight our battles for us.
Positively Yours,
Shawn
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