Senate Efforts to Repeal the Affordable Care Act

Statement of HIVMA Chair Wendy Armstrong, MD:

The HIV Medicine Association continues to urge our senators to reject any bill that will increase the number of Americans who are uninsured as efforts continue to craft a bill with enough support for passage that will repeal the Affordable Care Act. 

The health of our patients with HIV and millions of others with chronic conditions depends on having access to reliable, affordable, comprehensive healthcare coverage. Individuals with HIV can live long, healthy and productive lives with access to the appropriate health care and treatment; and when effectively treated, their risk of transmitting the virus is nearly zero.

Please consider their health and the health of all of your constituents before voting on any ACA Repeal, including the reported “Skinny” ACA Repeal Bill. An ACA Repeal bill that focuses on ending the individual and employer mandates would cause significant harm by destabilizing the non-group insurance market. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the “Skinny” ACA Repeal Bill would increase the number of uninsured by 16 million and increase premiums by 20 percent as compared to current law. Our patients with HIV and others with pre-existing conditions will be disproportionately affected by these policy changes since healthier individuals whose lives do not depend on regular access to medical care and treatment will be more likely to drop their health coverage as premiums rise. 

For our patients with HIV and millions of other Americans whose health is at stake, HIVMA appeals to our senators to halt efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and instead work in a bipartisan manner to improve healthcare for all Americans.

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The HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) is the professional home for more than 5,000 physicians, scientists, and other health care professionals dedicated to the field of HIV/AIDS. Nested within the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), HIVMA promotes quality in HIV care and advocates policies that ensure a comprehensive and humane response to the AIDS pandemic informed by science and social justice. For more information, visit www.hivma.org.