Advocacy
Amida Care advocates for policies and initiatives that support health and social justice for the populations we serve.
Amida Care Advocates for Access to Gender-Affirming Health Care
Every New Yorker has the right to live their fullest lives. But transgender New Yorkers face barriers to meet basic needs like health care. Amida Care provides culturally-competent, gender-affirming care that New Yorkers of transgender experience need to thrive. But access to care is still a challenge in mainstream health care. The solution starts with adequate rates and a commitment to comprehensive gender-affirming care, which will help end the HIV epidemic and create a more equitable health care system. Learn more in City & State New York and Gay City News.
Tell Your Family and Friends Nationwide: Urge Your Senators to Pass the Equality Act Now
We know you share the belief that everyone, including LGBTQ people, should be treated fairly and equally by the laws of our nation. The good news is that we have the opportunity to pass the Equality Act (PassTheEqualityAct.com) this year, which would provide protections from discrimination for the LGBTQ community in employment, housing, and public places. The bad news: We face an uphill battle to get the bill passed through the Senate. The only way we can win is by mobilizing our supporters to contact their Senators. In less than five minutes, you can take a stand for equality and help us get this bill over the finish line, ensuring that everyone regardless of who they are or who they love is treated equally. Please join Amida Care and The NEW Pride Agenda’s campaign: Take action now!
Amida Care Celebrates Delay of Medicaid Pharmacy Carve-out in New York State Budget
Amida Care celebrates the two-year delay of the Medicaid pharmacy carve-out, which preserves our whole-person model of care. The proposed reform would have harmed millions of New Yorkers by changing how they access their prescription drugs. New York State has decided that this change will no longer be happening, and Amida Care members will continue to get their pharmacy benefits from Amida Care. The delay also protects our provider network by preserving millions of dollars in annual 340B program savings that permit providers to focus on medically underserved New Yorkers. Their services are essential to addressing long-standing health inequities–particularly pronounced among New Yorkers of color, people of transgender experience, and other underserved populations. This policy achievement would not have been possible without the dedication of individual New Yorkers and committed coalitions who stood steadfast throughout the past year. Read more.
AIDS United Statement Addresses Public Health and Racial Justice Challenges
AIDS United Public Policy Council (PPC), representing 56 member organizations including Amida Care, recently released a statement addressing public health and racial justice issues in the wake of Covid-19, calling on Congress and the federal government to ensure the health of people affected by HIV, as well as the health of our country’s democracy itself.
The statement specifically voices opposition to the confirmation of a new Supreme Court Justice before a new Congress and President are elected; demands cessation of political interference within the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Food and Drug Administration; and commits to exposing and undoing systematic racism, specifically opposing the Trump administration’s executive order banning federally contracted agencies from discussing racial inequality and teaching cultural competency to federal employees. The PPC expresses solidarity with the communities that it represents and serves, along with a willingness to work closely with members of Congress who heed this urgent call to action.
Read the statement here: https://www.aidsunited.org/News/
New York State Aims to End the HIV/AIDS Epidemic by 2020
Amida Care’s President and CEO Doug Wirth served on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Task Force to End the AIDS Epidemic in New York State by 2020, which produced the Blueprint to End the Epidemic, outlining plans to reduce the rate of new HIV infections in the state from 3,000 per year to fewer than 750.
It’s estimated that 1.1 million people in the United States are living with HIV. New York State is aiming to be the first state in the country to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic by the end of 2020. Doug Wirth, President and CEO of Amida Care, appeared on WFUV’s “Cityscape” to talk about New York’s initiative to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and how Amida Care is contributing to that effort. Listen to the interview here: https://www.wfuv.org/content/ending-aids-epidemic-ny
Protect America’s Health: Strengthen Medicaid
ACAP (Association for Community Affiliated Plans) has released a white paper about the widespread benefits of Medicaid in the U.S. and its critical importance to America’s health. Amida Care is a member of ACAP, which represents over 60 Safety Net Health Plans, serving millions of Americans.
Medicaid benefits working voters. According to the white paper, “The Medicaid Voter,” nearly 60 percent of adults with Medicaid coverage work, and the vast majority of those who are not working have an illness or disability. The report also traces the bipartisan underpinnings of Medicaid and provides data about the number of people in each state and Congressional District enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP, as well as the estimated number of Americans in each state and Congressional District who have benefited from Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Read more: https://www.communityplans.net/research/the-medicaid-voter/
Pride and Ending the HIV Epidemic in New York This Year
Gotham Gazette, June 23, 2020: In this Op-Ed, Amida Care President and CEO Doug Wirth discusses the importance of pharmacy care management in improving health outcomes. Read More
Attacking lethal health disparities: How to fix the underlying problems that put black and brown families at greater risk of dying from coronavirus
NY Daily News, April 21, 2020: Op-ed by Amida Care President & CEO Doug Wirth and NBLCH President and CEO C. Virginia Fields on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color.
Read More
Amida Care Celebrates Affordable Care Act’s 10th Anniversary
New York, NY (March 23, 2020) – 10 years ago today, the Affordable Care Act became the law of the land, providing health coverage to 21 million Americans. The ACA is particularly crucial during a health crisis like the current COVID-19 pandemic to ensure access to care. This crisis reaffirms how critical it is to have a reliable, effective, and comprehensive health system that serves all Americas. Read More
Amida Care’s Policy Briefings Archive
Policy Briefing on 340B Drug Rebate Program, December 2018
Policy Briefing on Public Charge Rule, December 2018
Background on Amida Care’s Involvement in DSRIP Population Health Initiatives
On April 14, 2014, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a groundbreaking waiver that allows New York State (NYS) to reinvest $8 billion in federal savings generated by the Medicaid Redesign Team reforms. The resulting Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Program promotes community-level collaborations and focuses on system reform, specifically with a goal to achieve a 25% reduction in avoidable hospital use by 2020. Since then, Amida Care has worked closely with NYS and with providers throughout New York to maximize the impact to the DSRIP program for its members and other Medicaid beneficiaries with complex chronic conditions.
Amida Care applied for and received a planning grant that supported efforts to develop recommendations for community-based projects aimed at meaningful transformation of the chronic illness sector (see full report below). Amida Care also conducted citywide and statewide advocacy to advance its priorities and recommendations, including focusing on statewide inclusion of HIV/AIDS projects and citywide inclusion of all five recommendations in DSRIP applications, and specifically acting as a community liaison between DSRIP and the State’s Ending the Epidemic (EtE) Task Force.
Following the planning process, Amida Care was funded by the NYS Department of Health AIDS Institute to facilitate a statewide learning collaborative to support NYC Performing Provider Systems (PPSs) to implement their selected HIV/AIDS projects, and to support HIV/AIDS-focused community-based organizations’ involvement in DSRIP population health projects, including those that intersect with ETE efforts. Read more
Research
Research Findings Reveal Health Benefits of Targeted Case Management for People Living With HIV
Providing comprehensive, holistic case management to people dealing with multiple co-morbid conditions, including HIV, can yield tangible health improvements and long-term cost savings, according to a joint study released by Amida Care and ACRIA, an HIV/AIDS research organization.