Health Care Access
Another Chance to Enroll in Health Care!
In the first few days of President Biden’s term, he signed A LOT of executive orders. One of these orders reopens HealthCare.gov for a special three-month enrollment period starting on February 15. This means that people without health insurance have a chance to purchase health insurance on their state’s health insurance marketplace or Healthcare.gov outside the normal November 1 through December 15 window.
Advocates have been asking for this special enrollment period, as it many individuals have dealt with unemployment and unstable employment during the pandemic, leading them to lose insurance.
If you or someone you know is interested in enrolling, check out this Quick Guide to Healthcare.gov.
CDC Study Indicates that More Treatment, Less PrEP Would Reduce HIV Transmission by 94%
A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) modeling study shows that allocating more money to make sure every U.S. resident living with HIV achieves and maintains an undetectable viral load, rather than focusing on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), could slash new HIV cases by 94% by 2027. This is because a person with an undetectable viral load cannot transmit HIV to their sexual partners—undetectable equals untransmittable (U=U).
Ensuring access to care and providing the services people need to stay in care is paramount to the health and wellbeing of people living with HIV, and is also the most effective way to prevent transmission and reduce incidence. Read more about the study here.
Expanding Medicaid Also Increases People’s Knowledge of Their HIV Status
A new study on the effect of Medicaid expansions on HIV diagnoses and PrEP use was released in late January. It found that Medicaid expansions were associated with an increase in the percentage of people living with HIV who are aware of their status and an increase in PrEP use.
Status of the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout for People Living with HIV
The COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been complicated to say the least. It in many states, it is unclear exactly who is and who is not eligible for the vaccine during the initial phase.
HIV is expressly included in vaccine prioritization plans as a high-risk medical condition in twelve states (Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginal).
Seven other states broadly include “immunocompromised state” in phase one without specifying which conditions are included. It is important to note though that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines HIV as one of the “certain medical conditions” that increase the risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and thus it may be included in later stages of the Phase 1 vaccine rollout.
If you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine and HIV, please find more information here:
· Find Your State COVID-19 Vaccination Plan
As of February 15, only 17 states had opened up vaccine eligibility in part or in full to people with high-risk medical conditions.
New Racial Justice Index
AIDS United and its Public Policy Council (PPC), of which PWN is a member, have launched the Racial Justice Index. The Index is being guided by the Black AIDS Institute to assess and improve the HIV sector’s commitment to racial equity by creating assessment tools and resources to combat anti-Black racism and other forms of racism.
These evidence-based tools and resources will focus on hiring practices, leadership, talent retention and decision-making in the HIV movement.
PWN looks forward to supporting this work as a member of the PPC and of the HIV movement. If you are looking for other ways to address anti-Black racism in the HIV movement, consider signing up to Celebrate and Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement on March 12.
People Living with HIV had Worse COVID-19 Related Health Outcomes in New York State
A new study concerning COVID-19 related health outcomes for people living with HIV in New York state showed that they had poorer health outcomes than other people when they were diagnosed. The study did not find that living with HIV make a person more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19.
Unsurprisingly, however, Black and Latinx people living with HIV were more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 than non-Hispanic white people living with HIV.
The authors of the study recommend that CDC add HIV to the list of co-morbidities that allow people to be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccinations.
Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice
Global Gag Rule Revoked
President Biden revoked the global gag rule, which prevented international non-profits that provide abortion counseling or referrals from receiving U.S. funding, and directed HHS to review a similar rule that is used in the United States, referred to as the domestic gag rule or the Title X rule.
The global gag rule put in place by the previous administration was much broader than iterations of it used in the past and affected other areas of care, like HIV services, due to forced clinic closures due to lack of funding. The domestic gag rule similarly has reduced funding for health care providers who provide abortion, like Planned Parenthood, which could lead to clinic closures or reduced services. The rule has a disproportionate impact on low-income women, women in the South, and BIPOC women who receive services at Title X clinics.
Check this out if you would like to read more about some of the executive orders from the Biden Administration and their impact on people living with HIV.
Reintroduced Momnibus Act
Representatives Lauren Underwood (D-IL) and Alma Adams (D-NC), along with Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and other members of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, reintroduced the Momnibus Act, which includes 12 separate bills, and aims to fill gaps in existing legislation to address the Black maternal death crisis.
The Act includes measures to tackle the relationship between pregnancy and COVID-19, such as including more pregnant people in vaccine trials. It also incorporates finding from a recent study to establish grants to invest in community-based programs which will work to minimize environmental threats thought to pose health risks to pregnant and postpartum women.
Addressing the Black maternal health crisis is critical to tackling systemic racism in our health care system. The same discrimination and economic and environmental oppression that cause Black women to have a higher risk of acquiring HIV are also causes of the Black maternal mortality crisis. The Momnibus Act is a critical step to begin addressing these inequities.
You can support the Momnibus Act by calling your members of Congress at 202-224-3121 and signing this petition.
Ending Criminalization
Virginia HIV Modernization Bill Nears the Governor’s Desk
Virginia Senate Bill 1138, a bill which modernizes Virginia’s HIV criminalization laws, passed both the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates and is now headed to the governor’s desk. If he signs it, it will become law.
PWN Virginia State Lead Deirdre Johnson, who is also the co-founder of Ending Criminalization of HIV and Overincarceration (ECHO VA) coalition, PWN Policy Director Breanna Diaz and Policy Associate Tyler Barbarin, Equality Virginia, and the Sero Project have dedicated countless hours to meeting with community stakeholders and supporting organizations, drafting bill language, and reaching out to and meeting with state legislators to make this happen.
Unfortunately, in order to pass through the House of Delegates, an amendment was made to the bill that reinstated a felony charge for cases where intent can be proven and where actual transmission occurred. (The existing law does not require transmission.) The original bill scrapped all criminal penalties for a full repeal; the bill was first amended in the state senate to reduce the felony to a misdemeanor. While the final bill that passed sets a higher bar for prosecution (proving both intent and transmission) and is therefore an improvement over the existing law, PWN and our partners are extremely disappointed in the Virginia legislature’s insistence on retaining a felony, which can destroy the lives of the accused and their family. Criminalization is never an effective public health strategy and disproportionately impacts marginalized communities. We will advocate for this felony to be eliminated in the future.
New Report Studies the Effects of FOSTA-SESTA
A report was released which studied the socioeconomic and HIV disparities among trans women sex workers and others who do sex work in San Francisco and compared these disparities to trans women not engaged in sex work from the pre- and post- implementation of the 2018 “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act” and “Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act” (FOSTA-SESTA).
When it was passed, FOSTA-SESTA was framed as a way to reduce sex trafficking on online personals sites, like Backpage. However, advocates were clear from the start that the bills 1) conflate consensual sex work and sex trafficking; and 2) would put sex workers at risk of increased economic insecurity and violence.
Over the 18 months analyzed, trans women sex works and others who do sex work had higher odds of being unstably housed, having income from criminalized sources, experiencing transphobic hate crimes, experiencing discrimination from police or courts, being incarcerated, meeting sex partners in the street or public settings, meeting sex partners on Craigslist or other online forums, or engaging in condomless anal intercourse.
The report found that these results showed increased disparities in socioeconomic and HIV-related risk outcomes after the passage of FOSTA-SESTA.
The results of this report show the need for further data collection to understand the effects of FOSTA-SESTA, which could be achieved through the passage of the SAFE Sex Worker Study Act. This legislation would study the effects of FOSTA- SESTA and the risks to safety, economic security, and dignity that sex workers face every day.
Ending Violence Against Women
Black Lives Matter Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
The Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) was nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize by Norwegian MP Petter Eide. BLM was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer, although the roots of the group go back further.
Its mission is “to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.” In its own words, BLM focuses on “creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy.” BLM’s role in countering police brutality has changed the national conversation around systemic racism and violence.
BLM’s work has been critical for addressing racist policing practices that harm women living with HIV in the United States, a majority of whom are Black and Latinx.
Being the target of this structural violence harms the physical health, mental health, and overall wellbeing of BIPOC communities and inflicts further trauma on them. BLM has played an essential role on bringing these realities into the public conversation and affecting change.
The winner of the 2021 Novel Peace Prize will be selected in October of this year.