AHF Appeals to Gov. Newsom to ‘Help People with HIV’

In a Sacramento Bee ad set to run Sunday, September 18th, AHF implores California Governor Gavin Newsom to help prevent the interruption of care for over 1,400 AIDS patients in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AHF will run a full-page, full-color advocacy ad in the Sacramento Bee this Sunday, September 18th. The ad, headlined, “Governor Newsom: Help People with HIV” is a heartfelt appeal to the governor seeking his assistance to help prevent the interruption of care for over 1,400 AIDS patients in Los Angeles. AHF is asking Newsom to intervene and stop Medi-Cal from cancelling a respected 27-year-old AIDS care program created and operated by AHF—the only specialized managed care plan for people living with AIDS in California.

In late June, AHF received notice from state’s Department of Managed Health Care that it was not renewing AHF’s contract for the plan for 2023, leaving patients at the mercy of other care plans whose medical providers don’t have the years-long relationships with these particular patients—and may also not have the same degree of expertise in managing the care of AIDS patients.

In its ad in the Bee, AHF cites the decades-long, time-honored tradition of AIDS activism that awakened a nation to the poor quality of treatment of AIDS patients and reminds Governor Newsom:

“You have had a distinguished record as mayor and governor supporting the LGBTQ community, which is most affected by HIV. We trust that you will continue to keep faith with us.”

The ad continues:

“Your department admits the reason for canceling this contract has nothing to do with the quality of care we provide but solely that we sought to mobilize our patients to advocacy.

We are appealing this decision, but your department has openly said that it will cancel this contract while the appeal is pending. That’s just unfair and makes a mockery of due process.”

Unless Governor Newsom intervenes or AHF’s appeal to California’s Department of Managed Health Care is heard quickly and it prevails, AHF’s contract for its managed care plan for people living with AIDS will sunset or end on December 31st of this year.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.6 million individuals in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth, follow us @aidshealthcare or subscribe to our AHF podcast “AHFter Hours.”
Contacts
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Ged Kenslea, Senior Director, Communications for AHF, +1.323.791.5526, ged.kenslea@ahf.org
Tom Myers, General Counsel & Chief of Public Affairs for AHF, +1.323.860.5259 cell, tom.myers@ahf.org