AHF Continues Call on Gov. Newsom to ‘Help People with HIV’
25 September 2022 - 12:33AM
Business Wire
In a Los Angeles Times ad set to run Sunday,
September 25th, AHF continues its plea to California Governor Gavin
Newsom to help prevent the interruption of care for over 1,400 AIDS
patients in Los Angeles
AHF will run a full-page, full-color advocacy ad in the Los
Angeles Times this Sunday, September 25th. The ad, headlined,
“Governor Newsom: Help People with HIV” is a heartfelt appeal to
the governor seeking his assistance to help prevent the
interruption of care for over 1,400 AIDS patients in Los Angeles.
AHF is asking Newsom to intervene and stop Medi-Cal from cancelling
a respected 27-year-old AIDS care program created and operated by
AHF—the only specialized managed care plan for people living with
AIDS in California. AHF published a similar plea in the Sacramento
Bee last Sunday (September 18, 2022).
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the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220924005012/en/
AHF will run a full-page, full-color
advocacy ad in the Los Angeles Times this Sunday, September 25th.
The ad, headlined, “Governor Newsom: Help People with HIV” is a
heartfelt appeal to the governor seeking his assistance to help
prevent the interruption of care for over 1,400 AIDS patients in
Los Angeles. AHF is asking Newsom to intervene and stop Medi-Cal
from canceling a respected 27-year-old AIDS care program created
and operated by AHF—the only specialized managed care plan for
people living with AIDS in California. (Graphic: Business Wire)
In late June, AHF received notice from state’s Department of
Managed Health Care that it was not renewing AHF’s contract for the
plan for 2023, leaving patients at the mercy of other care plans
whose medical providers don’t have the years-long relationships
with these patients—and may also not have the same degree of
expertise in managing the care of AIDS patients.
In its ad in the Times, AHF cites the decades-long, time-honored
tradition of AIDS activism that awakened a nation to the poor
quality of treatment of AIDS patients and reminds Governor
Newsom:
“You have had a distinguished record as mayor
and governor supporting the LGBTQ community, which is most affected
by HIV. We trust that you will continue to keep faith with us.”
The ad continues:
“Your department admits the reason for
canceling this contract has nothing to do with the quality of care
we provide but solely that we sought to mobilize our patients to
advocacy.
We are appealing this decision, but your
department has openly said that it will cancel this contract while
the appeal is pending. That's just unfair and makes a mockery of
due process.”
Unless Governor Newsom intervenes or AHF’s appeal to
California’s Department of Managed Health Care is heard quickly and
it prevails, AHF’s contract for its managed care plan for people
living with AIDS will sunset or end on December 31st of this
year.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS
organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to
over 1.6 million individuals in 45 countries worldwide in the US,
Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and
Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website:
www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/aidshealth, follow us @aidshealthcare or subscribe
to our AHF podcast “AHFter Hours.”
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220924005012/en/
Ged Kenslea, Senior Director, Communications for AHF,
+1.323.791.5526, ged.kenslea@ahf.org
Tom Myers, General Counsel & Chief of Public Affairs
for AHF +1.323.860.5259 cell tom.myers@ahf.org