Dear Friends,
Today, as we commemorate World AIDS
Day, we must reflect both on the lives lost and on our moral obligation
to provide necessary treatment and research dollars for those living
with HIV/AIDS. As a senior member of the House Energy and
Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee, I understand the urgency of
this issue. I pledge to continue my efforts to halt the spread of
this terrible disease, and treat its victims.
I have continally fought for increased federal money for New York to treat the more than 135,000 New Yorkers who are living with HIV, and the over 87,000 others who are dealing with an AIDS diagnosis.
New York still remains the epicenter of HIV/AIDS in the U.S., with the AIDS case rate equaling more than 3 times the U.S. average. Through 2009, over 200,000 New Yorkers have been diagnosed with AIDS. Sadly, HIV is the 3rd leading cause of death for New York City residents aged 35 to 54. Worldwide, the epidemic is even more severe. In South Africa, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS estimates that there are 5.6 million people living with the deadly disease, and that's just in one country in Africa. The numbers are equally staggering throughout the continent.
I am proud of the work I have done on my bipartisan Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA). While I was able to have it included in the House version of the Affordable Health Care Act (H.R. 3269), but it was omitted from the Senate version which eventually became law. The legislation would reform Medicaid rules mandating that people be disabled by AIDS before receiving treatment. National health guidelines recommend early and aggressive treatment for those with HIV - in order to keep illnesses from progressing to AIDS. ETHA would allow states to treat low-income individuals with HIV under the Medicaid program at an enhanced federal reimbursement. HIV will no longer have to be a death sentence for many people, because of the new medical treatments available today. Once the insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansion, created in the Affordable Care Act, are up and running, much of the focus of my legislation will be realized as patients will be able to gain access to insurance coverage for HIV/AIDS treatment through the exchanges.
Globally, we must always be mindful of the 33.4 million people currently living with HIV/AIDS. Tuberculosis is the leading infectous killer among adults with HIV/AIDS, as it preys upon those with weakened immune systems. I wrote the Stop Tuberculosis Now Act, which was included in the 2008 President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) reauthorization. Worldwide, close to 2 million people were killed by tuberculosis in 2007, and my legislation will go a long way towards providing resources to those suffering from both diseases.
Some other alarming worldwide data:
I will continue tmy work in Congress, using the resources at hand in both committees on which I serve (House Energy and Commerce and House Foreign Affairs Committees), to make a difference in the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS and their family members who suffer along with them.
I have continally fought for increased federal money for New York to treat the more than 135,000 New Yorkers who are living with HIV, and the over 87,000 others who are dealing with an AIDS diagnosis.
New York still remains the epicenter of HIV/AIDS in the U.S., with the AIDS case rate equaling more than 3 times the U.S. average. Through 2009, over 200,000 New Yorkers have been diagnosed with AIDS. Sadly, HIV is the 3rd leading cause of death for New York City residents aged 35 to 54. Worldwide, the epidemic is even more severe. In South Africa, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS estimates that there are 5.6 million people living with the deadly disease, and that's just in one country in Africa. The numbers are equally staggering throughout the continent.
I am proud of the work I have done on my bipartisan Early Treatment for HIV Act (ETHA). While I was able to have it included in the House version of the Affordable Health Care Act (H.R. 3269), but it was omitted from the Senate version which eventually became law. The legislation would reform Medicaid rules mandating that people be disabled by AIDS before receiving treatment. National health guidelines recommend early and aggressive treatment for those with HIV - in order to keep illnesses from progressing to AIDS. ETHA would allow states to treat low-income individuals with HIV under the Medicaid program at an enhanced federal reimbursement. HIV will no longer have to be a death sentence for many people, because of the new medical treatments available today. Once the insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansion, created in the Affordable Care Act, are up and running, much of the focus of my legislation will be realized as patients will be able to gain access to insurance coverage for HIV/AIDS treatment through the exchanges.
Globally, we must always be mindful of the 33.4 million people currently living with HIV/AIDS. Tuberculosis is the leading infectous killer among adults with HIV/AIDS, as it preys upon those with weakened immune systems. I wrote the Stop Tuberculosis Now Act, which was included in the 2008 President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) reauthorization. Worldwide, close to 2 million people were killed by tuberculosis in 2007, and my legislation will go a long way towards providing resources to those suffering from both diseases.
Some other alarming worldwide data:
- Young people aged 15-24 account for 40 percent of all new adult HIV cases.
- 2.1 million children are currently living with HIV, there were 430,000 new infections in 2008 and 280,000 deaths.
- There are approximately 17.5 million AIDS orphans - children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS - 81% of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Almost 1.2 million Americans were living with HIV or AIDS in 2008, with 55,000 new cases of HIV each year, according to the CDC.
- African-Americans make up 12% of the U.S. population but account for approximately 45% of those newly-infected with HIV, according to the CDC. Gay and bisexual men make up about 2% of the population, but account for 61% of new HIV infections, and nearly half of all Americans living with HIV.
- Two million people died from AIDS in 2008, and more than 16,000 people die each year from AIDS in the U.S.
- AIDS has killed 30 million people worldwide - half as many people as were killed in World War II. There are 34 million currently living with HIV, dwarfing the total amount of Americans who have been killed in armed conflict. Ever.
I will continue tmy work in Congress, using the resources at hand in both committees on which I serve (House Energy and Commerce and House Foreign Affairs Committees), to make a difference in the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS and their family members who suffer along with them.
Sincerely,
Eliot L. Engel
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
Eliot L. Engel
MEMBER OF CONGRESS
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