Toward an AIDS-Free Generation

Treatment and prevention of HIV has gained major strides over the past few decades and we are now at a point where envisioning an AIDS-free generation is possible. San Francisco’s Getting to Zero Coalition is hosting a town hall in conjunction with World AIDS Day to discuss its goals of “zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS deaths, and zero stigma.” New York’s governor has created a task force to bring new HIV infections down to 750 per year by 2020 and to eventually eliminate HIV. Additionally, CDC has realigned its funding to match the epidemic across the United States and its territories, and is engaging in high-impact HIV prevention. All of these efforts are further punctuated by the Affordable Care Act, which is expanding access to care for people living with HIV/AIDS. According to the analysis conducted earlier this year by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the ACA will expand coverage to an additional 200,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S.

San Francisco is thrilled to be part of CDC’s efforts to promote high-impact HIV prevention. Our CBA program is home to a number of leaders within our community who have expertise in prevention and policy, and understand the nuances behind implementing the ACA. Though the ACA has expanded coverage for many Americans, implementation has been at times challenging, raising questions about billing and policies. It is through the assistance of our experts that we’ve navigated these questions, and we’re excited that they’re available to help other health departments with the same concerns.

Here are a few of our experts who can help:

Athina Kinsley is an expert on billing, who will be hosting a webinar on billing in December. Ms. Kinsley was previously at the Kern County Department of Public Health and has spearheaded efforts which include the California Billables Project and the California Public Health Billing Project.

 

 

Courtney Mulhern-Pearson is the Director of State and Local Affairs at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Ms. Mulhern-Pearson advocates for full funding of vital HIV care and prevention programs and provides leadership and coordination of the Foundation’s work to ensure successful implementation of health care reform with a focus on transitioning people with HIV/AIDS into new systems of healthcare coverage.

 

 

Colleen Chawla is the Deputy Director of Health and the Director of Policy and Planning at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Ms. Chawla coordinates city-wide and department-wide efforts to plan for health and healthcare delivery in San Francisco, as well as for health policy analysis and development. Her current work is largely focused on successful implementation of the Affordable Care Act in San Francisco.

 

 

The open enrollment period to sign up for health insurance through the marketplace began on November 15, 2014 and ends on February 15, 2015. Our partners at AIDS.gov are hosting a webinar on Monday, November 24, 2014 to talk about what the ACA means for those living with HIV/AIDS and how providers can conduct effective outreach and enrollment, especially among populations disproportionately affected by the epidemic. If you’re an HIV service provider, a CBO partner or Federal staff and interested in learning more about how the ACA aligns with the National HIV/AIDS strategy, join in on the conversation! You can register for the webinar here.