November 25, 2014


December 15 
With Tight Enrollment Window, Consumers... 

Smooth sailing. The administration promises and outside experts expect that this year's open enrollment period on the health insurance marketplaces will|more 

 
    
    
   
Phil Galewitz
ACA racial justice

HIV and smoking
Spousal abuse
More States Expected To Expand...   
Texas and Florida, with their large uninsured populations, are not expected to offer coverage to many low-income patients. KHN's Phil Galewitz and Mary Agnes|more 
Obamacare's Racial Justice Wins, by the... 
The Supreme Court and John Boehner not withstanding, open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act's insurance exchange has resumed. And if outreach|more 
 

HIV and Smoking: A Dangerous... 

The CDC's Tips From Former Smokers campaign tells the stories of real people who experienced the challenges and rewards of quitting smoking. One of those stories|more 
 
 
2013 Was the Deadliest Year of LGBT...
For 17 years, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) has been collecting data on domestic violence in LGBT communities. They started in 1997 with a|more     

 



WHAT WE'RE READING

 

A cross-section of articles we've read this week about HIV/AIDS, STIs and a wide cross-section of structural and systemic factors impacting HIV/AIDS in Black communities.

 

News articles often describe Truvada, the daily medication that has been shown to greatly reduce the risk of contracting H.I.V., as controversial. But they tend to cite one specific Truvada opponent: Michael Weinstein, the outspoken president of the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

Science

In the fight against HIV, microbicides - chemical compounds that can be applied topically to the female genital tract to protect against sexually transmitted infections - have been touted as an effective alternative to condoms. However, while these compounds are successful at preventing transmission of the virus in a petri dish, clinical trials using microbicides have largely failed. A new study from the Gladstone Institutes and the University of Ulm now reveals that this discrepancy may be due to the primary
mode of transportation of the virus during sexual transmission, semen.

A federal advisory committee on Thursday recommended for the first time that the U.S. soften its ban on blood donations from gay men.


Knowing the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) serostatus of patients at the time of cancer diagnosis or cancer recurrence is prerequisite to coordinating HIV and cancer treatments and improving treatment outcomes. However, there is no published data about HIV testing among cancer survivors in the United States. In this study, researchers sought to provide estimates of the proportion of cancer survivors tested for HIV and to characterize factors associated with having had HIV testing.

I am thrilled that the comments I made in my cover interview for OUT 100 have generated a spirited dialogue about HIV/AIDS -- and the advent of a whole new class of preventative life saving medication. I am less thrilled that they were almost entirely misconstrued. Perhaps I could have been more articulate -- but my comments were never meant to be incendiary or judgmental.

Many people in the United States who are living with HIV rely on some form of federal assistance, whether it's Medicaid or Medicare, Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS (HOPWA), the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) and other components of the Ryan White AIDS Program, or insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). When Republicans take control of both halves of the U.S. Congress in 2015, what might this mean for HIV treatment access? TheBody.com spoke to Brandon Macsata, a Washington insider who is a Republican with HIV, to get his thoughts on the 114th Congress.

The surprising similarities between diabetes and HIV/AIDS.
In This Issue
Phill Wilson
We're starting off this issue with an important reminder: If you are purchasing health insurance on HealthCare.gov and want your insurance to begin on January 1, 2015, you only have 20 days left to buy it.|more 
 

EVENTS 

Health Insurance Marketplace Open Enrollment Key Dates:

 

 12/15/14 - Enroll by the 15th for new coverage that begins by Jan. 1, 2015

 

12/31/14 - Coverage ends for 2014 plans. Coverage for 2015 plans can start as soon as Jan 1, 2015.   

 

2/15/15 - Last day you can apply for 2015 coverage before the end of Open Enrollment    

    

"25 to Life"

 

Award-winning documentary that chronicles the story of William Brawner, a young man who kept his HIVpositive status a secret for over twenty-five years.

Screening dates and locations:

  

Friday, 11/28 7:00PM

Los Angeles - Downtown Independent

 

Monday, 12/01
7:00PM  
New York - Imagenation Raw Space

Philadelphia - Philadelphia International House

  

Washington, D.C. - Anacostia Arts Center

  

Chicago - Dusable Museum of African American History

  

Seattle - Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center

  

Houston - Houston Museum of African American Culture   

  

Detroit - Cinema Detroit

  

Birmingham, Al - The Edge

  

Montgomery, Al - Purte Artistry Literary Café

  

Tacoma, Wa - Grand Cinema

  

Greensboro, NC - The Artist Bloc

  

Oakland- Mindseed Sound Stages

  

Denver - Sie Film Center

  

Honolulu - Honolulu Museum of Art

  

Charlotte, NC - The Little Rock Culure Center

  

Miami - American Art Initiative

  

London - Brixton Ritzy


Monday, 12/8
7:00PM

 

Boston -  Artsemerson


Visit healthcare.gov for more infomation 

  

For more information on these events 

contact Rebekah

Isreal at

rebekahi@BlackAIDS.org

or visit 
 
BLACK AIDS
WEEKLY

PHILL WILSON 

Publisher

 

HILARY BEARD 

Editor-in-Chief

 

TERESA RIDLEY 

Copy Editor

 

LASHIEKA P. HUNTER 

Media and Public Relations Consultant

Founded in May of 1999, the Black AIDS Institute is the only national HIV/AIDS think tank focused exclusively on Black people. The Institute's Mission is to stop the AIDS pandemic in Black communities by engaging and mobilizing Black institutions and individuals in efforts to confront HIV. The Institute interprets public and private sector HIV policies, conducts trainings, offers technical assistance, disseminates information and provides advocacy mobilization from a uniquely and unapologetically Black point of view.

Support the Black Aids Institute through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC# 12320). The Institute holds the Independent Charities Seal of Excellence for meeting the highest standards of public accountability.