Amida Care Celebrates 20 Years of Excellence in
Health, Advocacy and Care

OUR HISTORY

We are celebrating Amida Care’s 20th anniversary! Two decades ago in August 2003, seven community-based providers came together to form a health plan to serve New Yorkers impacted by HIV. Creating a health insurance plan designed by HIV-experienced providers that placed members’ needs foremost was a visionary idea. Now Amida Care is New York’s largest Medicaid managed care Special Needs Health Plan (SNP), and the experts in HIV and gender-affirming care.

Amida Care’s history is a great example of how outside-the-box thinking and leadership led to success. Amida Care was one of the first organizations to advocate for early Hepatitis-C coverage and treatment, which is now a covered benefit for all Medicaid recipients. Similarly, we were one of the first to advocate for gender-affirming care, including hormone therapy and surgeries, and in 2017, our advocacy efforts expanded SNP eligibility for people of transgender, gender nonconforming, and non-binary (TGNCNB) experience, regardless of HIV status. Over twenty years we have grown and evolved, but our commitment to addressing health disparities, ending HIV, breaking down barriers to care for marginalized communities, and addressing racism as a public health crisis remains steadfast.

OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

We’ve accomplished so much since 2003, including:

• achieving viral suppression for 80 percent of members living with HIV, an increase from 60 percent in the early 2000s;
• curing over 1,200 members of Hepatitis C, a leading cause of death among people living with HIV;
• helping over 60 percent of TGNCNB members access gender-affirming care, including surgeries, within three years of membership;
• creating our groundbreaking Member Advisory Council, a group of members who provide input to help improve the plan’s services, including three representatives who are elected to sit on our Board of Directors; and
• forming close working relationships with our provider partners, who continue to guide the organization and provide specialized health services to care for our members.

OUR GRATITUDE

We thank our founders, Board of Directors, providers, and staff for being part of Amida Care’s vision and legacy. None of our successes could have been accomplished without their hard work and commitment. We’d also like to thank our members, who have always inspired our work. Finally, we thank the leaders at the New York State AIDS Institute, Medicaid and Office of Health Insurance Programs for the vision and commitment that created the SNP HIV-experienced model of care, and we look forward to continuing to serve communities impacted by HIV.

MEDIA

Amida Care members, staff, and members of the Board of Directors are available to speak in media interviews about our visionary work to provide the highest quality health coverage to people affected by HIV.  To request an interview, please email scroce@amidacareny.org.

Read more:

Press Release: Amida Care Celebrates 20 Years of Improving Health Outcomes for New Yorkers Impacted by HIV

Yahoo!
FOX/5
Positively Positive
Globe and Mail
Benzinga
POZ
MarketWatch
PIX/11
Pride & Equality Magazine
Healthcare Today
NBC/8