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To Reduce Health
Disparities
Affecting HIV/AIDS
PURPOSE: To urge
Congress and the
President to take
decisive action to
reduce health
disparities,
particularly as they
relate to the impact
of HIV/AIDS on
persons of color.
WHEREAS, the
Institute of
Medicine (IOM) found
that ethnic and
racial minorities
tend to receive
lower quality health
care services and
account for a great
share of the disease
burden across a
broad range of
diseases, including
HIV/AIDS;
WHEREAS, the IOM
also found that
disparities in the
quality of health
care, including HIV
care, are associated
with higher death
rates among ethnic
and racial
minorities;
WHEREAS, the IOM
concluded that the
lack of health
insurance presents a
major barrier to
reducing health
disparities, and
approximately half
of the uninsured
Americans are racial
and ethnic
minorities, despite
comprising only 37%
of the population;
WHEREAS, the IOM
determined that
culturally and
linguistically
appropriate care can
improve health
outcomes and
increase patient
compliance with
treatment plans;
WHEREAS, the
devastating impact
of HIV/AIDS in
communities of color
continues to grow,
with the Centers for
Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC)
reporting an
estimated 71 percent
of AIDS cases
diagnosed as of 2006
as being among
ethnic and racial
minorities;
WHEREAS, the CDC has
determined that
Hispanic men are
more than twice as
likely to get HIV
than are white non-Hispanic
men. Disparities
among women are
higher, with
Hispanic women four
times more likely to
get HIV than white
non-Hispanic women.
Overall, an
estimated 79 percent
of HIV cases for
female adults and
adolescents reported
through 2005 is
among African
American and
Hispanic women.
WHEREAS, the Census
Bureau projects that
by 2050, half of the
U.S. population will
be persons of color,
the unchecked impact
of health
disparities will
rapidly cause our
national experience
with HIV/AIDS to
assume epidemic
proportions; and
WHEREAS, the
President of the
United States as an
individual and the
United States
Congress as an
institution are in a
position to redress
the problem of
health disparities
and improve
prevention and
treatment services
for HIV/AIDS:
THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED, by the
Legislative
Conference of the
National Hispanic
Caucus of State
Legislators in Las
Vegas, NV, on
November 15, 2008 at
the NHSCL Annual
Meeting:
(1) urges the
President to provide
focused leadership
domestically to
reduce health
disparities,
particularly as they
relate to HIV/AIDS;
(2) requests the
Congress to increase
funding for state
and local grant
programs authorized
by the Ryan White
Comprehensive AIDS
Resources Emergency
Act, especially to
assure funding for
faith-based
initiatives
providing culturally
and linguistically
competent prevention
and treatment
programs;
(3) calls on the
Congress and the
Secretary of Health
and Human Services
to ensure that AIDS
Drug Assistance
Program funding
counts towards an
individual’s out-of-pocket
contributions for
Medicare
beneficiaries
enrolled in Part D;
(4) encourages the
Secretary of Health
and Human Services
to issue guidance
requiring that all
states’ Medicaid
preferred drug lists
provide prompt
access to HIV/AIDS
treatments
consistent with
established HIV
treatment protocols;
(5) urges the
Congress to provide
increased funding to
the Department of
Health and Human
Services and
relevant agencies,
including the
Centers for Disease
Control and
Prevention and the
Human Resources and
Services
Administration, to--
(A) implement the
Centers for Disease
Control and
Prevention’s
National HIV
Prevention Strategic
Plan;
(B) expand the
Minority AIDS
Initiative to
provide additional
support to minority-serving
community-based
organizations;
(C) augment outreach
and HIV testing
efforts targeting
populations
including racial and
ethnic minorities at
higher risk of
contracting HIV;
(D) develop
additional evidence-based
HIV prevention
interventions
targeting ethnic and
racial minorities;
(E) and otherwise
improve HIV
prevention and
treatment services
for ethnic and
racial minorities.
This resolution
was adopted on
November 15, 2008,
at the National
Hispanic Caucus of
State Legislators
Executive Committee
Annual Meeting held
in Las Vegas,
Nevada.
Representative
Joseph Miró (DE),
NHCSL president
Sponsored By:
Representative
Joseph Miró,
Delaware |
