US House Speaker and others comment on ETHA reintroduction

Speaker of the US House of Representives Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California), along with Reps Eliot Engel (Democrat, New York) and Ileana  Ros-Lehtinen (Republican, Florida), reintroduced the Early Treatment for  HIV Act (ETHA) this week with a bipartisan group of 44 original  co-sponsors. Speaker Pelosi released the following statement:

"Effective drug treatments have improved both health and quality of life  for thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS. However, many uninsured,  low-income HIV-positive individuals still do not have access to these  life-saving medications because they generally do not meet Medicaid  requirements until becoming disabled by full-blown AIDS," it said.

"Forcing people with HIV to wait for health care until their immune  system is compromised by AIDS is bad health policy. The Early Treatment  for HIV Act (ETHA) eliminates this harmful gap in the safety net. This  change in Medicaid eligibility is long overdue. Studies show that  passage of ETHA would not only significantly improve the health of  people living with HIV, but also would reduce long-term health care  costs as people stay healthy and active," it added.